GovLia sets out to bridge the equity divide

With equity being top of mind in many communities, local governments are making moves to ensure more equitable service delivery across the board. With new job titles popping up such as “Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer” and “Chief Equity Officer,” many local governments are establishing more formal roles and oversight around advancing racial equity and practices which avoid disparate impact to minority and women owned businesses (or “M/WBEs”).

Disparity studies are routinely done which focus on economic issues involving M/WBEs competing for local government contracts to determine if a qualifying contract is unfairly denied. Some of these studies are state or agency mandated, other local governments are taking proactive steps to review contracts and procurement practices to identify and address any potential disparate impact. Universally, local governments should recognize the opportunity to utilize procurement for equity in the community.

$ ShaKeia Kegler$  is a Florida-based female govtech entrepreneur and Navy veteran. And she has set out with a noble mission to help bridge the equity divide in U.S. based local governments of all sizes as we collectively seek to build more equitable communities. This mission-based startup has been selected as part of $ CivStart's 2020 cohort$ , whose own mission aligns well with Kegler's.



Introducing GovLia

CEO Kegler and team have built a robust platform which allows local governments to quickly search a growing database of nearly 250 women and minority owned businesses across the U.S. post RFPs, post live updates with suppliers, and ultimately access a central hub for engaging with eligible suppliers.

$ GovLia$  is building a government marketplace designed to make public procurement simple, equitable and more inclusive. Kegler says:

“We eliminate time-consuming paper-based processes and the use of multiple solutions that do not communicate to increase small and diverse business participation. GovLia’s solution allows local government agencies to easily implement and manage local preference and supplier diversity programs, to ensure inclusive procurement and support economic development initiatives.”

How it works

Eligible businesses and contractors can register as a supplier for free. Once their profile is complete it will be published and acts as their digital capabilities statement, making it easier for the firm to be located based on offerings and other small business designations. Using this profile, they will have the ability to register with multiple entities, certify as a small, local and/ or minority owned business, and find and bid on opportunities as well as establish B2B relationships with other like-minded businesses.

Governments have the ability to add any type of certification in the platform from small or local business enterprises, to race and gender conscious programs like minority and women business enterprises (MWBE), or any programs that focus on disadvantaged business communities like verteran and services disabled businesses.

Govlia is marketed as a way to implement and manage local preference or supplier diversity programs, while saving time, money and resources. Subscription packages are available for both governments and companies, with pricing dependent on what functionality is needed (ranging from free to $3299/month for a plus account).ShaKeia says:

“We have the ability to leverage our existing solutions along with developing customizations that provide the best user experience for the government and business communities.”

Local governments can utilize the platform for free to meet their businesses where they are and build a business community to provide real time updates on upcoming contracting opportunities, training and grants. For access to the suite of tools to allow supplier engagement, digital certifications, diversity reporting, RFP advertising and supplier sourcing, local governments can upgrade to a paid subscription.

How local governments & companies are using the tool

GovLia has set out to be the common application of small business certifications. Businesses have the ability to create one profile, register, certify and bid on contracting and subcontracting opportunities all in one platform.

Government agencies also benefit from the ability to access a pool of vendors, simplify processes to increase engagement, and implement economic development solutions to make procurement more equitable and inclusive for small businesses, communities of color and women, veteran, LGBT led firms.

The City of Fresno, California had a contracting opportunity available to replace light fixtures. Embedded was a requirement for 10% percent of the contract to be awarded to a certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. GovLia worked with Siemens to help them locate qualified and certified subcontractors and ultimately found a firm for Siemens to partner with to win the contract with the city. The certified firm - a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise - won a $70,000 opportunity in the middle of a pandemic largely thanks to GovLia. Kegler says:

"Time is not a resource we have in abundance as business owners so it is important for governments to implement solutions and policies that will meet small businesses where they are to lower the cost of doing business with the government."

Get involved

It is free for qualifying companies to join the directory. If this applies to you, you can connect with GovLia $ here$ .

GovLia CEO, Shakeia Kegler is passionate about creating opportunities for individuals and business owners to grow, overcome economic hardships, and surpass barriers to success using technology.