Mayor Bass Encourages LA Small Businesses to Apply for Assistance to Secure City Contracts

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$1 Million in Funding Provided by Banc of California

LOS ANGELES - Mayor Karen Bass encourages local small business owners and entrepreneurs to apply for the City's Contract Financing Program, which was designed by Mayor Bass to help small businesses pursue procurement opportunities. A million dollars in funding to establish and facilitate the program was provided through a public-private partnership with Banc of California, which relocated its headquarters to the City of Los Angeles during Mayor Bass' first year in office.

Mayor Bass created this program with the understanding that many small businesses are precluded from competing for City contracts because they lack the working capital to cover upfront costs while the City processed their payments. Through this new initiative, small business owners will be able to secure competitive loans to fund costs associated with fulfilling the new City contract. These loans will assist with securing the initial funds necessary to cover direct contract costs such as materials, equipment, and hiring employees to fulfill City contracts that might otherwise be a challenge.

"Opening Los Angeles for business means making City Hall an advocate for business," said Mayor Bass. "I encourage small businesses to apply for the contract financing program with support and funding provided by Banc of California. With this funding they can be more competitive to win and keep City contracts. With major events on the horizon, we want to make sure that small and local businesses have a new pathway with the contract financing program to compete for City contracts now and in the future."

"As the largest independent bank based in Los Angeles, and the third-largest bank headquartered in California, Banc of California is proud to support small businesses through Mayor Bass' contract financing program," said Jared Wolff, Chairman and CEO of Banc of California. "The Los Angeles region is a major contributor to the California economy and the national economy. We need public-private solutions like this to help accelerate rebuilding and to ensure the City is ready to take center stage at the upcoming World Cup and the 2028 Olympics. When Los Angeles businesses of all sizes can compete and thrive, there is a broader positive effect on the economy."

The City Contract Financing Program will provide an opportunity for local small businesses to experience the contracting process and understand the steps needed to be a City contractor. This experience, along with the programming created in the Mayor's ProcureLA, will help small businesses be contract-ready for the numerous opportunities available for the FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics, as well as the urgent work around the rebuilding efforts in the Pacific Palisades. This is a critical component of Mayor Bass' focus on small businesses and opportunities for our City's small businesses to grow and thrive with so many world-class events coming to Los Angeles in the coming months and years.

Contract Financing Program eligibility requirements:

• Businesses must be located in the City or County of Los Angeles
• Businesses must be in the process of being awarded a Professional Service Contract with the City of Los Angeles
• Businesses must have a Business Tax Registration Certificate.
• Businesses must be competing for professional services contracts. Services include architecture and engineering, human resources and staffing, consulting, legal services, surveyors, accounting and bookkeeping, marketing and public relations, information technology, training and development, and project management.

The City's Contract Financing Program establishes innovative financing partnerships which allow an unlimited number of eligible businesses to apply for the program and compete for financing. Loans to qualified borrowers will be funded by the City's Community Development Financial Institution partners: Lendistry and the Pacific Asian Consortium for Employment (PACE). Learn more and apply at ProcureLA.com.

Mayor Bass has taken strong, consistent action, inclusive of the business community, to chart a new path where businesses are supported to thrive. In May, she launched the new Business Navigator, a centralized online hub that will help local small businesses access permits, resources and procurement opportunities more easily and efficiently. The Navigator is available at business.lacity.gov. The announcement was made at the 2025 ProcureLA Summit, which hosted more than 300 small business owners and entrepreneurs during Small Business Month.

Mayor Bass continues efforts to open City Hall for business - helping hundreds of businesses access millions in funding; ensuring that local, minority-owned small businesses are contracted to work on capital infrastructure projectsahead of the coming major events; and making it easier for studios and producers to shootin Los Angeles.

The Mayor launched the ProcureLA Programin October 2024, during the Sports & Entertainment Procurement Summit, to build a pipeline of businesses equipped to compete for City contracts ahead of major regional events. The next Sports & Entertainment Procurement Summit will be held on October 23 at the LA Convention Center.