July 28, 2022 (DETROIT) – BuyDetroit, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation’s program focused on fostering a community of business-to-business procurement in Detroit, today hosted its Marketplace Live trade show event to continue its mission to connect Detroit vendors/suppliers with opportunities to compete for contracts, meeting the needs of the city’s existing business community.
The event allowed local and national buyers to see the marketplace/portal in-person and learn firsthand the landscape of Detroit’s business community. During the tradeshow, buyers interfaced with Detroit suppliers and had the option to make on-the-spot purchases.
“If we can recirculate dollars that are spent locally, it provides an opportunity for more growth, for more employment, for more tax-based expansion, and it also grows entrepreneurship,” said DEGC’s President and CEO Kevin Johnson.
Just under 100 Detroit-based companies participated in the one-day event to connect with buyers from around the country. At each booth, buyers scanned a unique QR code to show interest in a specific business. This QR code system is also how DEGC tracked engagement and transactions between buyers and Detroit vendors.
“A lot of these businesses do not have access to talk to a Target, to talk to a Walmart, or talk to a DTE, and we wanted to create a space where they could do that,” said Keyra Cokley, Associate Director of the BuyDetroit program.
In addition to its online procurement portal, BuyDetroit offers capacity-building workshops, technical assistance, and other resources to Detroit-based businesses.
To learn more about BuyDetroit, visit degc.org/buydetroit.