Bay Area

Black Businesses May Get Bigger Slice of City Contracting Pie

“I think it is a step in the right direction,” said David Peters, though he thinks the ordinance could be stronger.
“I think we are off to a good start,” said general contractor Mario Wagner, who owns RF Contractors in Oakland.
To the previous ordinance, Taylor made eight changes, several of which are small and technical in nature, including the truck storage requirements for the Local Oakland Local/Small Business Enterprise Trucking Certification Program.

Published

5 years ago

February 18, 2021

Kiki

Councilmember Loren Taylor

Black business owners may get more work with the city of Oakland following a City Council vote Tuesday afternoon.

Councilmembers voted 7-0 for the Local Business Empowerment Through Contracting ordinance, which aims to improve equity in city contracting and help Oakland small businesses weather the pandemic.

The ordinance goes into effect immediately because it passed with six or more votes. Councilmember Sheng Thao was excused.

“This is just the beginning,” Councilmember Loren Taylor, co-sponsor of the ordinance, said before the vote. “We have a long way to go.”

Black-owned firms certified as Local/Small Local Business Enterprises lost $42.9 million in city contracts between 2011 and 2016, according to the 2017 Race and Gender Disparity Study by Mason Tillman Associates. In other words, those businesses were expected to be awarded $42.9 million more, given their eligibility.

Overall, Black businesses lost more than $56 million in contract opportunities over the period covered by the disparity study.

A likely example is Oakland-based Carol H. Williams Advertising. After nearly 35 years in business, Williams has never had a contract with the city, a member of her staff told the council. The staff member called that fact “disturbing.”

Carol H. Williams Advertising has done work for the U.S. Census Bureau, the U.S. Dept. of Defense, New York City and is currently doing work for Kaiser Permanente.

Preceding the vote, several people spoke in favor of the ordinance.

“I think it is a step in the right direction,” said David Peters, though he thinks the ordinance could be stronger.

“I think we are off to a good start,” said general contractor Mario Wagner, who owns RF Contractors in Oakland.

To the previous ordinance, Taylor made eight changes, several of which are small and technical in nature, including the truck storage requirements for the Local Oakland Local/Small Business Enterprise Trucking Certification Program.

Taylor also created a new business certification category called the Small Business Administration-Local Oakland Business Enterprise, and redefined and expanded the meaning of a “substantial business presence” and “local manufacturer” as evidence of a business’ presence in the city.

Previously a business needed only to have one employee working in the city and a 12-month lease to be considered a local business.

The ordinance increases the employee presence to 20% of a company’s staff, or a minimum of 50 employees, which makes it harder for larger companies to out-compete smaller firms in Oakland.

Just before Tuesday’s vote, Ed Dillard, president of the Oakland Black Board of Trade and Commerce, said, “It is a first step, Councilmember Taylor, and it is a monumental step.”

But like Taylor, Dillard thinks much more needs to be done.

Taylor said he’ll be back in later in the year to present more changes. Councilmember Treva Reid co-sponsored the ordinance with Taylor.

Kiki

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

2 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

1 week ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.