Dear SBAIC Members,

I hope that this newsletter finds you all well and the first quarter has been successful!

In this edition of SBAIC’s membership newsletter, we are excited to share with you the incredible work that our members are doing around the world with regards to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal #13 on Climate Change. The newsletter articles share amazing success stories of our small business members supporting a wide range of U.S. Government agencies and NGO organizations. From improving land management in Vietnam to promoting more sustainable tourism in Trinidad and Tobago, it is clear that our members are taking innovative approaches to climate problem-solving and are making great strides in preserving our planet. Please take the time to learn more about the great work that our members are doing across the globe as advocates and supporters of the UN’s Sustainability Goals.

As an update to SBAIC members and our partners, our organization has had a busy start to 2021 with a lot of great new opportunities for members! Recently we have had many successful events, including our recent meeting with the General Council of SECAF and Senior Partner of Protorae Law, Devon Hewitt, at our last membership meeting on April 6. She shared with us the updates to the Small Business Administration’s lengthy rule overhauling of its regulations for all its small business programs.

In addition to recent events, SBAIC is planning to host its first Membership Townhall on April 29 from 2 – 4pm. This will be an opportunity for the SBAIC Board of Directors to share in depth with the members the upcoming activities and ways for members and our partners to get more involved with SBAIC. The first hour will be the SBAIC Board Strategic Plan report and the second hour will be open networking with SBAIC members and vendor sponsors. If you haven’t already, please consider registering for the event, here.

SBAIC is also excited to launch our first Virtual Prime Matchmaking Event Series. These events are unique opportunities for SBAIC members to learn more about how to do business with large Prime contractors whose primary customers are international development agencies such as U.S. Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These matchmaking appointments will be based upon responses to a membership survey of interest to meet with our select large primes. A survey will be provided prior to each Prime matchmaking event; members who are interested in participating in the event must fill out the survey to be considered. These events will be held quarterly with commitments from Creative Associates, ACDI/VOCA, Chemonics, Tetra Tech, and FHI 360. We are looking forward to providing new ways for our membership to network and engage with new partners.

If SBAIC members and partners are interested, the organization is now offering a number of sponsorship opportunities. This could be a great way to market your business and support our organization. For more information about sponsorship packages available, please reach out to SBAIC Treasurer, George Papadapoulos (gp@brontidellc.com).

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Communications Committee Co-Chairs Asmaa Idrisu (Inceptima, LLC), Janine Karo (Jefferson Solutions) and Larry Ott (ME&A) for managing the publishing of this newsletter. We would also like to thank all our board members for their work on implementing SBAIC’s 2021 Strategic Plan.

Remember, this is YOUR quarterly newsletter. It is your readership, your timely quality input and your thoughtful discourse that make the publication a valuable and engaging communications tool, reasserting SBAIC’s role as an influential organization working and advocating on behalf of U.S. small businesses.

Sincerely,

Jasmine Gould and Anita Campion
SBAIC Executive Committee Co-Chairs

INTEGRATING GOVERNANCE AND ENVIRONMENT IN THE ERA OF CLIMATE ACTION

This past year has provided one reminder after another not only of the connections between human individuals and societies, but also of the tightly woven fabric of the systems in which we exist.

MAPPING VULNERABILITY TO CLIMATE CHANGE AT THE COMMUNITY LEVEL

Our understanding of climate change is expanding beyond its direct impacts on the natural world and into the lives and livelihoods of people living in vulnerable environments.

SOLAR APPLICATION REDUCES ENERGY CONSUMPTION ON ARMENIAN FISH FARM

Hopefully, the fish will soon be growing faster and bigger under a new renewable energy project at a private fish farm near the village of Hovtashat in Armenia’s Ararat Valley.

FINDING REGENERATIVE AND RESILIENT TRAVEL SOLUTIONS TO FIGHT THE CLIMATE CRISIS

As a leading sustainable travel consulting and marketing firm, Solimar International engages with destinations and community leaders around the world to develop tourism-based initiatives focused on cultural, economic and environmental conservation.

ECODIT REDUCES EMISSIONS AND BOOSTS RESILIENCY IN VIETNAM

Central Vietnam is known for its pristine coastlines, fertile rainforests, soaring mountains, and 3,000 animal and plant species, including endangered species like elephants and rare monkeys.

SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT: A CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION IMPERATIVE

Poor waste collection and disposal—including overuse of incineration—represents a major public health hazard.

CREATING AN ENERGY EFFICIENCY MINDSET THROUGH TRAINING

We are at a historic inflection point. There are escalating economic and political concerns about access to and security of energy supplies, along with rising temperatures across the globe.

MAINSTREAMING GENDER IN DECARBONIZATION IN FIJI

Climate change and deforestation threaten the world, and global discourse has recently emphasized the disproportionate effects of climate change on groups of people who face inequalities related to poverty, race, age and other factors.

Visit our website to learn more about all the SBAIC Members

www.sbaic.org

Small Business Association for International Companies (SBAIC) is a membership organization established to promote the meaningful utilization of U.S. small businesses at U.S. government agencies providing foreign assistance, such as the: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and the U.S. Departments of State, Defense, Health and Human Services and Agriculture.