About Us

Mission and Values

The New York & New Jersey Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. (The Council), is a not-for-profit 501(c) (3) organization that its operations in 1973 focusing on Albany through downstate New York and Northern and Central Jersey through Trenton. In late 2012, its service offering expanded to include Upstate New York (Buffalo, Syracuse, Rochester, etc.).

As a regional affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC), The Council certifies suppliers that are Asian, Black, Hispanic, and Native-American. The Council’s membership consists of Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations.

The Council has a staff of six (6) and is departmentally structured to include Administrative Operations, Corporate Services, MBE Services, Events and Programming.

The Council’s pillars – Certify, Develop, Advocate and Connect – serve as the basis for its mission in meeting the expectations and needs of each stakeholder.

• Certify: Certifying MBEs not only promotes the value of certification and ensures a firm is in fact a minority, but also provides members with access to thousands of verified minority firms. The Council conducts a certification process that ensure MBEs are owned, operated, and controlled by a minority and comply with NMSDC standards for becoming a certified minority business. This verification is determined by a thorough examination of various documents, on-site visits, and interviews.
• Develop: Developing MBEs to full capacity is paramount to their success and is a primary function of The Council. Building capacity and capabilities of certified MBEs as well as assisting corporate members in building and/or strengthening supplier diversity programs is critical to ensuring a viable supply chain.
• Advocate: Advocating on behalf of MBEs and promoting the value proposition of minority supplier development as well as recognizing corporate members for their diversity initiatives brings awareness to the needs of minority firms and those striving to eliminate barriers they may face.
• Connect: Connecting certified MBEs with corporate members and other organizations is critical to the mission of The Council. Providing networking opportunities, contract possibilities, and ultimately- economic development will assist in the growth of minority firms across New York State.

Our Vision

To be the pre-eminent go-to organization for supplier diversity, incorporating best practices to certify, develop, mentor, connect and advocate for ethnic-minority owned businesses and support the efforts of our corporate membership to build a more ethnically diverse and sustainable supply chain.

Our Mission

The mission of The Council is to:

• Continuously enhance and expand our program offerings to create high level value for all stakeholders (Corporate Members and MBEs)
• Certify and develop ethnic-minority business enterprises to build a sustainable diverse supply chain.
• Provide a platform to connect suppliers with private and public sector procurement opportunities.
• Advocate for the growth and development of our Corporate Member and MBE business relationships
• To grow, develop and scale minority businesses.

Our Value Proposition

The Council actively seeks viable ethnic minority suppliers for procurement opportunities with its membership. The Council enables corporate members to diversify their base of competitive suppliers and strengthen the corporate supply chain. This “linkage process” increases opportunities for council-certified suppliers and helps facilitate the employment and economic development of our communities.