Equal Business Opportunity (EBO)

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Equal Business Opportunity

Click here if you want to certify your business as a Minority/Female Enterprise or if you want to view the Minority/Female Enterprise certified directory.

The mission of the Equal Business Opportunity (EBO) Office is to promote the inclusiveness of minority and female owned businesses within the city’s procurement process and to facilitate via race and gender neutral tools, the equitable awarding of contracts to minority and female business enterprises. The annual Doing Business with the City networking extravaganza highlights the relationships built as a result of this procurement process.

The Review Process

In accordance with the Executive Order, prospective contractors must submit a complete Equal Business Opportunity Plan with their bid submission. Bids will not be awarded until the Equal Business Opportunity Officer has approved the EBO Plan. The EBO Plan Checklist will help to ensure that all plan requirements are met. The City has established participation goals for each of the following categories: Construction, Architectural/Engineering & Professional, and Goods and Non-Professional Services. Click EBO Plan to download the Equal Business Opportunity Plan Application.

The EBO Plan should contain the following: 

  • Names, addresses, and contact persons of the African-American Business Entities (AABEs), Hispanic Business Entities (HBEs), Asian Business Entities (ABEs), Native American Business Entities (NABEs) and/or Female Business Entities (FBEs) to be used in the contract
  • Type of work or service each business will perform
  • Dollar value of the work
  • Scope of the work

Prime Contractors may meet the AABEs, HBEs, ABEs, NABEs or FBEs applicable project goals by utilizing:

  • Subcontractors
  • MBE Suppliers
  • Joint Venture Agreements
  • Mentor-Protégé Agreements

 Completing the EBO Plan Application

Follow the steps below to comply with the EBO Executive Order:

  • Complete the EBO Application, if applicable, search the City of Jackson's Certified Minority Business Enterprise Database located at https://jackson.diversitycompliance.com/Default.asp?
  • If you are not able to locate a minority subcontractor on our site we will work with new minority vendors to navigate swiftly through the certifications process. If you are unable to meet the full participation goal or are unable to find a subcontractor, you must provide a waiver statement on your company's letterhead requesting a waiver of the specific minority goal. Additionally, a good faith effort must be shown by providing certified mailings or email correspondence where you tried to contact minorities to participate on the project.