Tennessee increases its spending with disadvantaged businesses

TN News - Published Jan 17, 2022

According to the Tennessee Department of General Services (DGS), the state has had a banner year for spending with small businesses and business owned by minorities, women, persons with disabilities, or service-disabled veterans. 

In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the state spent $766 million with the aforementioned disadvantaged businesses, which represents a new state record. The amount represents an increase of 3.5 percent over the amount spent in the previous fiscal year.

The figures were released in the annual report from the Governor's Office of Diversity Business Enterprise (Go-DBE) covering the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The report also noted that the state certified 336 new businesses as minority-owned, woman-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, owned by persons with disabilities, or small business enterprises during the fiscal year; and that while 2,087 of the state's 255,265 registered suppliers are certified by the Go-DBE program, those certified firms received 14.2 percent of the total state spend during the fiscal year.

"We're proud that Tennessee has been able to increase its spend with small businesses and businesses with diversity ownership, which are typically seen as especially vulnerable," said Chief Procurement Officer Mike Perry in a press release.

Read the press release from the Tennessee DGS at https://www.tn.gov/generalservices/about-dgs/newsroom1/2022/1/11/state-sets-record-for-spend-with-diversity-businesses.html.

Read the annual Go-DBE report at https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/generalservices/documents/cpo/godbe/annual-report/Annual%20Report%20from%20FY20-21%20FINAL%20on%2012-22-21.pdf.