The CU Grow Vendor Development program hosted its first procurement event of 2023 on April 19 at The Forum, bringing together the program’s seventh cohort of 21 minority-, women-, and locally owned (MWL) firms with program alumni and project managers from Columbia University Facilities and Operations (CUFO).
At the event, several representatives at Columbia University provided an overview of their departments, contracting and procurement opportunities they oversee, and pending projects available to MWL-firm bidding. Wissam Akra, co-founder and CEO of Tough Leaf, a procurement company that helps connect general contractors to new projects, also presented.
The CU Grow program hosts four procurement events throughout the 11-month program to provide participants the opportunity to learn more about upcoming business and networking opportunities within the University. To date, 80 percent of the 98 MWL firms who have graduated from the CU Grow program have been awarded contracts within Columbia University.
