Thank you, Mauricio, and thank you to the entire team at USAID’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization for organizing this great event.

I also want to thank our hosts today; it is great to be here at George Mason University. The Virginia Procurement Technical Assistance Program here at GMU has been a wonderful partner in putting on the conference, bringing in a whole host of great sponsors and partners.

At USAID, we are proud to serve as part of an Administration that values our veterans, and recognizes the many ways they contribute to their country even after their military service has ended. We are thrilled to get to showcase some of that government-wide support today, and I want to thank our colleagues at the U.S. Department of State, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation for joining us.

Of course, the reason we have seen such widespread interest in this event – from across government, and from sponsors – is because of the outstanding work veteran owned small businesses are doing in many different sectors. So I want to especially thank all of you for being here today, and for partnering with USAID and our colleagues throughout the year.

And, for all the veterans in the room, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your service, and for the incredible sacrifices you have made for the American people.

One of the reasons veteran owned small businesses make such great partners for USAID, and for the government more broadly, is that we share a key motivation: service to country. Everything we do at USAID is done on behalf of the American people. In addition to strengthening the United States’ position as a global leader, our efforts to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies help enhance our own security and prosperity here at home. 

But to do all of this work, we need you. The challenges we deal with every day – whether it is saving the lives of children and mothers, fighting corruption, or eradicating global hunger – are simply too massive and complex for any one entity to tackle alone. We need the academic and research communities to ensure we are driven by the best available evidence. We need governments of developing countries and donor nations to come together around shared goals. We need NGOs to offer resources and technical support as well.

And, of course, we need the private sector, and especially small businesses, to add their expertise, ingenuity, and innovation.  As you all know, veteran owned small businesses is a highly diverse category, and the work we have done together covers a wide range of geographic locations and sectors.

We have relied on small businesses to provide and deliver materials that are essential for implementing our programs successfully. For example, Strategic Communications, Inc, a service disabled veteran owned small business, has helped USAID and our partners improve literacy in Indonesia by publishing and delivering 7.5 million reading textbooks. In Tanzania, they played a similar role to advance student achievement in math and science.

Small businesses have also played an essential role in training our local implementing partners, like Kaizen has in Ethiopia. This can help ensure partners on the ground are able to improve management systems and practices and fully comply with USAID’s requirements and expectations.

These are just a couple of examples – there are many more like it. Small businesses are an essential part of our work, and the demonstrated leadership, resourcefulness, and flexibility of veteran owned small businesses make them especially attractive.

That is why USAID has committed to expanding and enhancing our partnerships with U.S.-based small businesses. This commitment has led to real progress. As many of you know, every year the Small Business Administration issues a scorecard for each Federal agency, rating how well they have followed through on their commitment to contracting with small businesses, including disadvantaged businesses and businesses owned by veterans and women.

Prior to 2010, we had received a series of failing grades on our small business scorecard. So, we went to work updating our procurement strategy, taking steps to increase competition and improve staff understanding of small business policies and regulations through a training that has reached more than 700 USAID acquisition and program staff.

And, I am proud to share that in fiscal year 2014, in addition to achieving our contracting goal for service disabled veteran owned small businesses, USAID was only one of four federal agencies to receive an overall A+ rating. Our 2015 scorecard has not yet been released, but I am confident we will receive another outstanding grade this year.

While we are proud of what we have accomplished, we know our work is not done. We will continue to build on our progress, and be even more focused, intentional, and rigorous in our efforts to engage and support your community.

Throughout the day today, you will get a chance to see our commitment in action, and I hope you find the conference as valuable as I know the USAID team will.

To close, I want to thank you again for your service to our country. But I also want to thank you for starting a small business. It can be incredibly challenging and risky work, but the fact is small businesses represent America’s core competitive advantage in the world, serving as a major source of innovation and creating two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. economy. Simply put, the country needs you to thrive.

Thank you for your time today. I wish you all much success with your future business endeavors, and I know I speak for everyone at USAID when I say we are eager to continue to partner with you to showcase American values around the world, and ensure that every man, woman, and child – no matter where they live – has the opportunity to lead a life of prosperity, security, and dignity.

Thank you.