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Mercer County is rolling out a new effort aimed at helping small businesses break into government contracting — an area that can be lucrative, but often difficult to navigate.

County Executive Dan Benson announced the Procurement Readiness & Empowerment Program May 4. The county developed the four-week training initiative with the New Jersey Small Business Development Center at The College of New Jersey.

The course aims to give local firms a clearer path into county and state bidding opportunities.

“Access to government contracting can be transformative for small businesses, but the process can often feel complex and out of reach,” said Benson. “This program is about bringing down those barriers and ensuring that more of our local businesses can participate, compete, and thrive.”

The program runs through May. It mixes in-person and virtual sessions, focusing on the mechanics that often trip businesses up — from getting proper certification and building capability statements to responding to requests for proposals and interpreting county bid documents.

The goal is less about theory and more about giving participants practical, usable knowledge.

The effort also comes as state and local leaders continue to grapple with longstanding inequities in public contracting. As NJBIZ previously reported, a 2024 statewide disparity study found statistically significant gaps in contracts awarded to minority- and women-owned businesses. The findings underscore the challenges many firms face in accessing procurement opportunities.

From training to empowerment

Against that backdrop, county officials frame this new initiative as part of a broader push to widen access. And in particular, for small, minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses that have historically been underrepresented in procurement pipelines.

By expanding that pool, the county aims to keep more public dollars circulating locally while also building a vendor base that better reflects the community.

Program organizers say the effort is as much about long-term capacity as it is about short-term instruction.

“This program is about more than training. It’s also about empowerment,” said Lilian Mauro, regional director of the Small Business Development Center. “We are intentionally building a pipeline of qualified local vendors who are ready to engage, win contracts, and grow.”

Sessions will combine in-person and virtual programming focused on certification, RFP strategy and navigating Mercer County‘s procurement system. They run weekly throughout May:

• May 7
• May 14
• May 21
• May 28

Space is limited; officials encourage early registration. For more information or to register, contact [email protected].