The impact of COVID-19 on California businesses hit hard and fast and it is no secret that many companies have struggled to remain viable. Pamela Kan, President at Bishop-Wisecarver, has been working behind the scenes for months as part of the Governor’s Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery to help companies not only recover, but become even stronger than before.
This month, the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) announced Source Diverse Source Local, a public-private partnership to strengthen an inclusive procurement and resilient California-based supply chain. Kan helped develop this program and joins the California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) in co-leading the initiative that has three main goals:
- Help meet the needs of California’s supply chain by supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in California’s procurement by taking the necessary steps to increase dollars spent with diverse and/or local California businesses
- Share knowledge and best practices with small businesses to expand their opportunities with new vendors
- Develop new and existing small businesses through procurement readiness programs to obtain manufacturing, government, and/or corporate contracts
Pamela was quoted in the press release highlighting the long term need and benefit of the initiative: “Last year, California consumed $408 billion in imported goods, many of them commodities that California produces in-state. California has a sophisticated and robust manufacturing industry that employs 9.4% of the state’s workers. We need to focus on building our supply chain for resilience to strengthen our small businesses and the local communities they uphold.”
Companies and organizations supporting the initiative have signed a pledge where they commit to increasing diverse and/or local sourcing, improving contract accessibility and serving as leaders to share knowledge and leverage their relationships to champion the cause. Pamela has been focused on showcasing the strengths of diverse businesses for years as a member of the WBEC (Women’s Business Enterprise Council) Pacific and as a WBENC-certified, woman-owned business.
We are proud that Pamela and Bishop-Wisecarver are committed to helping businesses succeed and we encourage all California companies to join us. Read the details on the initiative, corporate supply chain partners, partners, pledge and resources at the Source Local Source Diverse site.
