Oklahoma Career Tech’s OBAN Program Offering Free Workshop on U.S. Hubzone Program

April 10, 2019

The Oklahoma Bid Assistance Network (OBAN) is offering a free workshop in April at Tulsa Tech’s Owasso Campus to give information about an economic development opportunity existing in the federal Historically Underutilized Business Zone Program.

The workshop will be April 18 in Owasso, to register or get more information call 405-227-0382 or go to the registration website for the workshop: https://hubzoneowasso.eventbrite.com. Three other workshops will be held during April and May in Durant, Lawton and McAlester.

“A large portion of Oklahoma is designated as HUBZone by the U.S. Small Business Administration,” OBAN program manager Carter Merkle explained. “This gives Oklahoma a competitive advantage in selling to federal agencies, a fact that should be understood by business owners, local chambers of commerce and economic development offices across the state. We at OBAN hope to raise awareness of the program and, as always, we stand ready to assist a business in applying for HUBZone certification.”

The HUBZone program seeks to encourage federal agencies to move at least 3 percent of their spending to companies operating in areas that have a history of low economic success. The areas, designated by the SBA, are chosen on economic activity,but also include Indian reservations and Oklahoma’s former reservations, which cover most of Oklahoma.

“The HUBZone program can help drive job growth and economic development in Oklahoma because certified HUBZone businesses must have their principal office located in a HUBZone and at least 35 percent of their employees must reside in the HUBZone,” said John D. Veal Jr., SBA Oklahoma deputy director.

The upcoming workshops feature presentations by Veal, OBAN procurement counselors and partners of Koprince Law LLC, specialists in federal contracting law. The events will also include current HUBZone certified businesses giving real life experiences using the program.

OBAN is a procurement technical assistance center operating within the Oklahoma CareerTech System. The program serves Oklahoma businesses, assisting them in selling to federal, state, local and tribal governments. OBAN has helped Oklahoma businesses capture billions of dollars over its 33-year history. It operates out of 12 Oklahoma CareerTech technology centers scattered across the state.