Access and Opportunities

For decades, Hispanic-owned businesses in South Louisiana – as well as businesses owned by other people of color – have operated and survived despite competing on an uneven economic playing field. Fully capable of providing goods, materials and services to a variety of regional corporations, these marginalized and disadvantaged businesses have faced systemic roadblocks that have prevented them from tapping into new opportunities, professional networks and revenue streams. 

To address this disparity, two large and local business entities – Ochsner Health System and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) – have recently created their own diversity and inclusion supply chain programs. These programs, combined with the outreach and support of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana, aim to target and eliminate long-standing economic inequities and to create a more diversified local supply chain. 

In 2020, Ochsner created a new position, System Director of Supplier Inclusion, and hired Jean-Marc Villain, a man with 20 years of small business economic development experience, to navigate the regional health giant’s efforts to add new, minority-owned businesses to Ochsner’s expansive roster of suppliers.  

“This whole supply diversity initiative is one of the pillars of Ochsner’s overall diversity and inclusion strategy,” Villain says. “The other pillars focus primarily on workforce issues, to make the organization more diverse and inclusive internally. The supply chain pillar does the same thing, increasing diversity and inclusion, but it’s obviously done externally – to make sure that communities that in the past haven’t had opportunities to do business with us have such an opportunity now.”

To get a firm grasp on what minority-owned businesses could complement Ochsner’s supply chain, Villain first had to comprehend the complexity and enormity of the health provider’s vast regional footprint.  During the initial months of the program’s existence, Villain collaborated with division/department leaders at Ochsner to identify areas where diverse business communities could fill specific needs and form a connection that would lead to contract opportunities at Ochsner. In essence, Villain views his new role as a conduit – an economic matchmaker, if you will – between his employer and external suppliers of color who could never get their foot in the door.  

“The future of the community is completely aligned with the future of Ochsner, as well,” Villain says. “Therefore, it’s imperative to have initiatives like this that strengthen the community as a whole. And as the national conversation has focused on social justice and economic justice for historically marginalized groups, we viewed this as a chance to expand upon Ochsner’s pre-existing diversity and inclusion efforts that have been paramount for years.”

Thus far, Ochsner has contracted Hispanic-owned businesses to handle the construction of new capital projects, expansion of current facilities or renovations to Ochsner’s existing infrastructure in Louisiana and Mississippi. Additionally, Ochsner has formed partnerships with minority-owned firms that provide the health system with facilities maintenance, staffing and marketing. As the program continues to grow, Villain hopes to expand the number of “Med-Surg” suppliers (makers of medical and surgical instruments) that are run by People of Color. 

“Even though this program is still in its infancy, about a year and change at this point, we’ve had successes and established connections with minority-owned businesses capable of meeting Ochsner’s supply demands,” Villain says. “Even at this stage, we’ve begun to find balance and closed the disparity gap and will continue to shrink it even more with the assistance of local advocacy groups – Certification Organizations, Chambers of Commerce like the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana – that can connect us to external businesses capable of filling a variety of needs.

“It would be impossible for us to be an effective Supplier Diversity department without those partnerships.”

In addition to assisting Ochsner by sharing messaging and opportunities to both English and Spanish-speaking communities, HCCL is a partner and supporter of similar initiatives run by the Morial Convention Center, captained by Small Business Program Director Rocsean Spencer. Spencer says she was specifically hired into the role to address “a lack of inclusion for small businesses in procurements and purchases at the Convention Center,” and she has worked diligently to level the playing field for businesses of all sizes and backgrounds.

Through its Small and Emerging Business Opportunity Program, Morial Convention Center has promoted contractor, subcontractor and vendor and supplier opportunities for Hudson-certified small and emerging businesses or disadvantaged business enterprises (a certification issued by the Department of Louisiana Economic Development). 

Already, Morial Convention Center’s focus on providing purchasing and contract opportunities for local vendors of color has yielded quantifiable results. For instance, from 2020 to 2021, the ratio of contracts awarded to Small and Emerging Businesses/Disadvantaged Entities rose from 34 percent to 56 percent. In 2021, 24 percent of contract money spent by the center went to businesses that qualify as either Small and Emerging Businesses or Disadvantaged Business Enterprises. Payments to minority-owned vendors more than doubled from 2020 compared to 2021, rising from $5,462,888 to $11,760,274.

Finally, of new vendors that worked with Morial Convention Center last year – supplying everything from food and beverage kiosks to procuring banquet tables to designing capital improvement renovations – 56 percent were Small and Emerging Businesses or Disadvantaged Business Entities.

“I am so proud of the team’s work at the Convention Center; there has been substantial improvement of the program over the last three years,” Spencer says. “I am most proud of awarding the largest contract to a SEB firm in the Convention Center’s history. That’s the real reward, when you can see a small business grow before your eyes.”

Spencer says even more initiatives are in the works and upcoming to further connect small businesses and disadvantaged entities to growth and procurement opportunities.

“Next for the Small Business program is PILOT, a mentor protégé program, and quarterly “WIN with NOENMCC” procurement events,” she says. “These two initiatives will bring small businesses in direct contact with more prominent companies, and will identify opportunities to build the capacity of the small businesses.”

 “It’s about access and opportunity,” says HCCL CEO and President Mayra Pineda. “It’s not that our businesses are now suddenly capable of fulfilling the supply needs of large corporations. No; it’s that they were never given the chance to fulfill those needs. We’ve always known that businesses within our community could do the job if given the job, but it’s impossible to do the job when there’s been no pathway to get the job.”

With efforts and initiatives like the ones helmed by Ochsner and Morial Convention Center, those pathways are not only opening, but stand to grow even wider. Pineda hopes the visibility and influence of those organizations will enlighten other businesses who require the services of local vendors and suppliers—and that they’ll be inspired to diversify their own supply chains.

“I hope anyone who wants to ensure parity and prosperity for disadvantaged business owners will reach out to the Hispanic Chamber,” Pineda says, “because we would be honored to help them make a difference in our community.”