RALEIGH – North Carolina Veteran’s Business Association (NC VetBiz), a membership organization made up of veteran-owned businesses and nonprofits, is hosting its sixth annual Procurement Summit in Raleigh next week.
Kyle Winder, president and chairman of NC VetBiz, says every year the summit organizers have seen numerous success stories of connections made and contracts won.
“Each year it gets bigger and bigger with more and more attendees,” Winder said. “We expect this year’s event to be the biggest yet, with more than 200 attendees, of which we hope that more than 100 of them will be veteran-owned business able to participate in our business matchmaking sessions.”
The event is an opportunity for veteran entrepreneurs and small business owners to connect with buyers and procurement specialists from government agencies, nonprofits and corporate entities.
The event kicks off with a networking reception on August 20 from 6-8 p.m. at Cary’s Umstead Hotel and Spa.
The main event takes place August 21 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the McKimmon Center on NC State University’s campus.
Triangle entrepreneur Brian Hamilton will deliver the keynote speech. Hamilton is co-founder and former CEO of Raleigh fintech startup Sageworks, which he sold to Silicon Valley-area private equity firm Accel-KKR in 2018.
Now he’s focusing his time on the Brian Hamilton Foundation and its programs to support veterans, youth and former prison inmates. The foundation’s flagship program, Inmates to Entrepreneurs, helps individuals with felonies start their own businesses after being released from prison.
The agenda also features talks from NC Department of Military and Veterans Affairs Secretary Larry Hall, U.S. Small Business Administration Acting NC District Director Michael Arriola and National Veterans Business Development Council President Richard Miller.
Breakout sessions focus on three content tracks: obtaining state procurement opportunities, accessing corporate procurement opportunities and understanding the benefits of the NVBDC Certification, which helps to boost exposure for companies owned by U.S. military veterans. Sessions will feature panels of experts in each track.
Attendees can also participate in “business match-making” sessions in the venue’s exhibit hall. They’ll be able to meet with buyers, suppliers and procurement specialists from a wide variety of public and private sector organizations, ranging from the NC Education Lottery, Wake Technical Community College, UNC Wilmington and Wake County Public Schools to Lenovo, Duke Energy, Cisco, RTI, Novant Health and SAS.
Tickets, available here, range from $50 to $1,500 depending on NC VetBiz membership.
