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OMWBE presents Building Opportunities—a pilot mentorship program for Washington-based small businesses operating in the transportation and construction industry to hone their knowledge to bid on opportunities.
This program will comprise of qualified mentors throughout the state who are experienced in the industry and well-versed in government contracting.
Up to 16 small business owners will have the opportunity to participate in the pilot cohort to learn side-by-side from their mentor’s best practices. The curriculum will cover topics that will help you secure government contracting and procurement opportunities. Apply today if this sounds like a good fit for your business!
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2025 Year-End Diversity in Contracting Celebration & Business Accelerator Graduation
Join the Port of Seattle for their end of year celebration! This networking event will begin with a program that will include:
- Celebrating the 2025 Business Accelerator Graduating Cohort
- A preview of Port opportunities coming up in 2026
- Remarks from Port leadership
- Recognition of 2025 Port WMBE partners
The event will conclude with an exhibitor walk, light refreshments, and networking. Come celebrate another successful year with Port of Seattle!
Where: Pier 69, 2711 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98121
When: Tue, Dec 16, 2025 | 4:00 PM - 6:30 PM
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Learn how to plan, start, and grow your business at our FREE workshop! Meet with state agency representatives in person and get free resources, information, and answers to your business questions. Choose from 3 locations:
Stevenson, WA | January 26, 2026 | 4PM - 6PM
Vancouver, WA | January 27, 2026 | 8AM - 10AM
Longview, WA | January 28, 2026 | 11AM - 1PM
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The Ascend Seattle program, run by the UW Foster School of Business Consulting & Business Development Center, accelerates the growth of small to medium-sized companies. We use the research-based "M3 Model"—Management Education, Money, and Markets—to provide executive training, access to capital, and connections to major contracting opportunities with anchor institutions and corporations.
Who Should Apply?
We seek established minority and/or women-owned businesses in the following industries: Commercial Construction, Residential Construction looking to enter the commercial space, Construction & Clean Energy, Affordable Housing Construction, Transportation working within the construction industry, Architecture, and Engineering.
To qualify for Ascend Seattle, your company must:
- Have been in operation for at least one year.
- Have annual revenues of at least $300,000, with projections of at least $800,000 by 2028.
*Businesses nearing or surpassing $1 million in revenue stand to gain the most from the program's resources
Questions? Email: jorrala@uw.edu
More Info: foster.uw.edu/centers/consulting-and-business-development-center/
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Washington's Electronic Business Solution (WEBS) Update: New solicitation webpage, registration option
Washington State Department of Enterprise Services (DES) has added information to the current opportunities page and has a new public page where you can view information about past solicitations.
New link on WEBS For Vendors page: Visitors can view the new past solicitations page and the current opportunities page from WEBS login page by clicking on the “See all bid opportunities” link.
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If your business is certified as a DBE or ACDBE in our Federal program, expect to receive new guidance from OMWBE. We are preparing to start collecting Personal Narratives and current Personal Net Worth Statements from businesses soon.
This new requirement is based on an Interim Final Rule (IFR) from the U.S. Department of Transportation that went into effect on October 3, 2025.
This rule change removes race- and gender-based presumptions of social and economic disadvantage in the federal DBE and ACDBE programs, and requires Unified Certification Programs (UCPs) like OMWBE to re-evaluate all currently certified DBEs and ACDBEs.
Please Note - We will notify you by email when we are ready to accept these documents. No action is required of you at this time.
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OMWBE offices will be closed December 25th and January 1st. We wish everyone a safe, warm, and joyous holiday season from our OMWBE family to yours!
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New Certifications
38 businesses obtained OMWBE certification in November! We share these monthly lists of newly certified firms with our contract and procurement contacts at State Agencies and Institutions of Higher Education.
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