DC, Maryland, Virginia (DMV)
DC Contractor Incubator
Cohort 2 - Fall 2024
Program Overview
The DC Contractor Incubator is designed to empower local small and disadvantaged firms in the District to effectively compete in the 21st-century construction industry. By focusing on the green building and clean energy sectors, the program strengthens participants' knowledge, skills, and networks.
The incubator offers an 8-week program that includes coaching and strategic business support to ensure that small and minority firms are ready to lead in DC’s growing market for building retrofits. This is especially important as building owners begin to invest in improvements and comply with the Building Energy Performance Standards.
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Program Details
Support Services
The Incubator will offer up to 2 years of support services to each MBE, delivered by subject matter experts. Participants will receive individualized coaching sessions and tailored plans in key areas such as general business consulting, finance, bonding and insurance, accounting and administration, clean energy technical education offers, marketing and communications, public works compliance, bidding and estimating, and CBE/MBE/LBE/DBE certifications.
Project Facilitation
The Incubator’s partners are dedicated to fostering strong relationships with MBE contractors, offering the services and support needed for their growth and success. They will mentor MBEs using best practices, create procurement matchmaking opportunities, and provide valuable feedback. Additionally, the Incubator will promote long-term peer exchanges, joint ventures, partnerships, and project opportunities between large general and prime contractors and MBEs.
Training Schedule
The curriculum introduces key strategies and information needed for profitable business growth. Each session includes featured content from an industry expert on topics like clean energy industry trends and technologies, “High Road” business practices, access to capital, bonding and insurance, project opportunities, RFP bid submission, and more.
Sessions are held on Wednesday evenings, starting on September 18, 2024 and ending on November 6, 2024, from 4 pm - 7 pm.
*Note: the first two sessions (Sept 18 and Sept 25) will be 4 hours from 3-7 pm.
Upon completion of both sessions, participants will have the opportunity to receive a GPRO certificate in high-performance construction and maintenance.
A large, joint graduation and networking event will be held in April 2025 after completion of the 3rd cohort with key stakeholders in the clean energy space in attendance.
Application Deadline - Wednesday, September 11, 2024 at 11:59 pm ET
Program Leads: Dr. Tabaris Smith and Justyce Watson
Keynote Speaker: Ron Pierce, Director of OSDBU at DOE
Connect with us on social media for updates!
Questions? Email Justyce Watson at jwatson@emeraldcities.org.
Criteria for Participants
- HVAC, Mechanical, Plumbing, Electrical (Preferred)
- Women and Minority Owned Businesses operating in either DC, MD, or VA (recommended)
- Multi-family Residential, Public Works, and Commercial Construction Scopes (at least 3 years in business)
- Annual Business Revenue between $250,000 - $1 million
- Project Scopes from $100,000 to $1 million
Need more information before applying? Join a free virtual information session:
- Info Session #1: Wednesday, August 21, 2024 from 5 pm - 6 pm ET: Register Here
- Info Session #2: Wednesday, August 28, 2024 from 4 pm - 5 pm ET: Register Here
