Groups aim to create contracting opportunities for women

WIPP 2005 Survey

Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) and the American Small Business Coalition have formed a partnership to try to help women entrepreneurs find federal contracting opportunities.

The partnership will serve as matchmaker to connect woman-owned businesses to suitable government customers, said Barbara Kasoff, president and chief executive officer of WIPP. She recently conducted a survey in which 60 percent of the respondents identified the inability to get to the buyers within government agencies as their leading challenge in the federal market.

"Women entrepreneurs are clearly emerging as a strong economic power base," said Guy Timberlake, chief visionary officer and co-founder of the coalition.

Timberlake and Kasoff said women own almost half of all private companies, yet they receive only 2.6 percent of federal contracts. That falls short of the congressionally mandated goal of 5 percent.