The 2019 Diversity Business Expo will beheld at 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Thursday, March 14, 2019 at Overcoming Believers Church located at 211 Harriet Tubman St.

City of Knoxville, East Tennessee Purchasing Association, Knoxville’s Community Development Corporation (KCDC), Knox County, University of Tennessee, Metropolitan Knoxville Airport Authority, Blount County, Knoxville Utilities Board, Knoxville/Knox County Public Building Authority, and other participating agency departments will be in attendance for the expo.

The Diversity Business Expo will provide the opportunity for minority-owned, women-owned, service-disabled veterans-owned and small businesses—collectively known as Diversity Business Enterprise or DBEs—to meet directly with decision makers from eight different agencies who purchase goods and services within small-dollar thresholds determined by each agency; the City’s ranges from $100 to $5,000.

“This event is for DBE business owners who want to promote their goods and services to local government agencies, as well as those department-level buyers who want to do business with small, locally owned businesses,” says Pamela Cotham, Assistant Purchasing Agent for the City’s Small Business and Diversity Outreach Office. This office works with all City departments to increase the amount of business the city does with DBE’s.

The expo will also include representatives of agencies that provide resources to diversity businesses, including Small Business Administration and the State of Tennessee GoDBE, Knoxville Urban League, SCORE, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center. 

The expo is free, and participants are encouraged to register online at https://bizexpo.questionpro.com. If you have questions, contact Diane Woods at 865-215-5760 or via email at [email protected]. 

Anyone needing a disability accommodation to attend the expo should contact the City’s ADA Coordinator, Stephanie Cook, at [email protected] or 865-215-2034. For an English interpreter, contact Title VI Coordinator Tatia M. Harris at 865-215-2831.