Arkansas APEX Accelerator helps 734 Arkansas businesses get more than $109 million in government contracts
By Fred Miller
U of A System Division of Agriculture
@AgNews479
Fast Facts:
- Arkansas APEX Accelerator helped small businesses acquire more than $109 million in government contracts
- Since 2001, clients have claimed about $1.3 billion in contracts
- Arkansas APEX Accelerator offices in Little Rock, Bentonville serve entire state
(279 words)
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LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Procurement Technical Assistance Center helped 734 small businesses in the state to earn more than $109 million in government procurement contracts in 2018.
Melanie Berman, Arkansas APEX Accelerator program director, said the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture program helps small businesses navigate the labyrinths of finding and successfully competing for government contracts. “We can go anywhere in Arkansas to provide counseling or training,” she said.
Since she began tracking contract figures in 2001, Berman said that Arkansas APEX Accelerator — formerly known as Arkansas Procurement Assistance Center or APAC — has helped Arkansas small businesses acquire about $1.3 billion in government contracts for goods and services.
Berman said the center has helped Arkansas clients arrange contracts with such federal agencies as the Department of Defense, the Department of the Interior and the Veterans Administration. Contracted services include demolishion of old structures, wastewater testing, woodlands restoration, tree planting, landscaping and janitorial.
Goods supplied by contracts include equipment, parts and supplies for cleaning, office supplies, medical goods, fire suppression in western wildfires and aerospace and aircraft construction and maintenance.
Arkansas APEX Accelerator also helps small businesses with state and local contracts, Berman said.
“We have 66 pages of reported federal and state contracts for our clients, just for 2018,” Berman said.
The Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service maintains Arkansas APEX Accelerator offices in Little Rock and Bentonville that serve the entire state, Berman said. The program operates on a grant from the DOD’s Defense Logistics Agency.
For more information about Arkansas APEX Accelerator, visit the program’s website, uaex.uada.edu/ptac.
To learn about Extension Programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visitwww.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter at @UAEX_edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
Media Contact: Fred Miller
U of A Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station
(479) 575-5647
fmiller@uark.edu
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