BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The Southern University Ag Center will be hosting a four-day business conference in May.

The 18th Annual “Helping Businesses Recover from the Effects of Covid-19” Procurement Conference will take place at the L’Auberge Hotel and Casino from May 15 to 18.

The free conference gives small businesses the opportunity to network with larger companies to grow their businesses. It’s also an opportunity for those small businesses to learn about contracting made available by the Bipartisan Infrastructure bill. $1.2 trillion is available for small businesses to obtain contracts with federal, state, local and private businesses.

Attendees will learn contract matchmaking, training and networking.

“This four-day conference will allow Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) many opportunities to network with industry and grow their businesses — from matchmaking with government and corporate entities to attending training and hands-on workshops designed to improve their business operations,” said Charletta Fortson, executive director of the Louisiana MBDA Business Center. “It is our goal to do more than just provide information but that all participants – especially our minority businesses walk away with tools, connections, and opportunities to scale.”

Click here to register or to learn more about the conference.