Small businesses in Arizona have been facing tough competition from contractors that are based outside Arizona for many years. For this reason, several small business members from the Minority Business Development Association have begun the hard work of building a visible and effective coalition in order to improve the Federal contracting climate for work in our own state.

As early as 2015, members of the MBDA began to notice that Federal contracting work in the Tech Sector was plentiful, but almost none of it was being awarded to Arizona small businesses, it was decided among the several members that it was long past time to join forces and do the hard work of beating a path to Washington and bring greater visibility to this issue. With literally billions of dollars of tech work happening in Arizona, but so little of it going to Arizona businesses, the group began developing a plan of action to change the landscape and improve Arizona’s economy.

Several members of the MBDA technical and IT group, and the MBDA team, along with guidance and counsel from experienced government strategists, began the discussions that eventually led to the formation of what is to be known as the “Arizona Business and Information Technology Coalition”, or AZBITC for short. The decision was made to establish an initial Board of Directors, and with the guidance of counsel, the group organized their efforts around the concept of forming a 501(c)(6) non-profit Business League, with the specific purpose of improving government contracting opportunities IN ARIZONA for ARIZONA BUSINESSES.

Vigilant is excited to be taking the lead on this project, and with CEO Carl Ingram taking the reins of the group, along with Dan Huffman, Vigilant’s Director of Business Development, handling the administrative tasks and managing the effort, we expect to have significant progress made on the coalition in the very near future!

Keep checking back here for more news on this exciting new phase of growth for Arizona’s small business economy!