Our mission is to certify, develop, connect, and advocate for suppliers as the premier supplier development organization creating sustainable and profitable relationships between minority business enterprises and major buying organizations.
Certify
We certify the authenticity of ownership and the integrity of operations for minority business enterprises. A minority business is eligible for certification if it is a for-profit enterprise of any size, physically located in the United States or its trusted territories.
The business must be at least 51% owned by qualifying individuals or at least 51% of the stock is owned, in the case of a publicly-owned firms, by one or more such individuals.
The ChicagoMSDC certifies approx. 300 Minority Business firms annually. Each application is processed within 90 days on average.
Connect
Our goal is to constantly improve connectivity between capable certified minority businesses and major buying organizations.
The ChicagoMSDC executes customized events to facilitate meaningful connections between buyers and sellers through personal introduction, one-on-one meetings, and networking events.
We are committed to creating successful exchanges that will address the supplier goals of each corporate member.
We will rely on improved communications, technology, data, and metrics as a foundation for our strategic plans and processes for buyer and seller connectivity.
Develop
ChicagoMSDC is dedicated to developing and implementing initiatives that support the growth and sustainability of certified minority businesses while also delivering valuable education and tools for supplier diversity professionals and advocates.
We invest our resources in the development of minority businesses with a focus on:
- Increasing Minority Business size and capacity for effective competition
- Connecting Minority Business with the right corporations based on corporate interest and supplier capabilities
- Encouraging mergers, alliances, teaming and partnering between Minority Business
- Developing succession planning to ensure continuity and benefits to minority communities
- Offering strategic resources for accelerate advancement and growth
- Improving technology skills and implementation as a competitive advantage
We develop resources for our supplier diversity professional and advocates to (1) build diversity team infrastructure, (2) generate successful buying relationships, (3) identify gaps in the market where diverse suppliers are unknown, and (4) growing our network of Minority Business and corporate members.
Advocate
The ChicagoMSDC collaborates with all stakeholders to communicate the value and necessity of supplier goals. It is critically important that we showcase the minority businesses, but we must also showcase and document the economic impact and job creation by those businesses within our communities.
We are advocates for supplier goals locally, regionally, nationally, and globally.
Our local Minority Business Input Committee (Minority Business IC) champions the voice of firms to ensure government transparency and compliance with all applicable laws. In addition, the ChicagoMSDC maintains communications with legislators and corporate government relations groups to foster open dialogue regarding social and fiscal responsibilities tied to fair and opportunistic business-to-business competition for contracts.