City and state deal will give businesses a boost.

Empire State Development Chairman Charles A. Gargano announced that the State and New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will facilitate the certification of minority- and women-owned businesses.

Under the agreement, businesses certified by either the City or the State will receive expedited review of their certification applications with the other entity. The agreement not only furthers cooperation between the two government agencies, but also brings new efficiencies to the certification process and opens the door to certification to a wider pool of eligible companies.

"Our agreement is tremendous news not only for New York's minority and women-owned business community, but for the local and statewide economy as well," said Gargano.

"Minority- and women-owned businesses play an important role in our business community and our economy, generating tens of millions of dollars annually and employing nearly 300,000 workers. Governor Pataki feels strongly that business partnerships between the public sector and minority- and women-owned businesses are vital to our communities."

The MOU is a formal agreement between Empire State's Division of Minority and Women's Business Development (DMWBD) and the City's Department of Small Business Services to promote and encourage the participation of M/WBEs in the economic mainstream.

DMWBD helps minority and women-owned businesses to access all the services offered by the State. Last year, 13 percent of total ESD procurement activity went to MWBEs.