History

In 1969, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce recognized a need to introduce corporate and government purchasing agents to minority business owners who could provide goods and services to the local community.

That year, the Chamber organized the first “Minority Business Opportunity Day Trade Fair,” which was held at the Chamber’s headquarters on Bixel Street in downtown Los Angeles. The event attracted a handful of representatives from major corporations and government agencies, as well as a small group of minority entrepreneurs.

It soon became an annual event, attracting more and more corporations and minority businesses. In 1975, the Chamber and the Minority Enterprise Coalition of Los Angeles created the Southern California Regional Purchasing Councils (SCRPC), a non-profit public benefit corporation.

Initially funded with federal government dollars, SCRPC’s role was to expand business opportunities for minority-owned businesses (Latino, Black, Asian, and Native American) by bringing together major corporations and minority suppliers to discuss potential procurement opportunities.

In 1977, with its mission “to expand business opportunities for minority suppliers and encourage mutually beneficial economic links between minority enterprises and corporate members,” SCRPC took over responsibility for the Trade Fair, and started adding other annual events, programs and services.

By 1980, the organization was entirely supported by the private sector. To better serve major companies and minority businesses in the fast-growing Orange County and Inland Empire areas, the council created the Orange County Purchasing Council in 1980, and the Inland Empire Purchasing Council in 1986. By 1991, SCRPC formed the Long Beach Purchasing Council. The councils, serving as affiliates of SCRPC, worked to expand their outreach to the minority business communities in their respective areas.

During the 1990s, SCRPC’s minority business enterprises and corporate membership grew and the organization continued to evolve. In 1999, the council formed the Central Valley Business Development Council to carry out its mission in the five-county area of Fresno, Kings, Kern, Tulare and Inyo. In 2003, the organization changed its name to the Southern California Minority Business Development Council (SCMBDC) to better reflect who we are and what we do, according to John Murray, president of SCMBDC.

"Our organization has evolved from one that focused almost solely on helping to increase corporate purchases from minority businesses to one that still embraces its founding purpose but now more broadly helps minority businesses grow and prosper,” he said.

In addition to a new name, SCMBDC adopted a new mission statement -- to support and develop minority business enterprises to compete and succeed in the open market.

Today, SCMBDC is the largest nonprofit minority business advocacy organization in the region, serving 1,300 minority business enterprises and 300 corporate members throughout 13 counties.

Headquartered in Los Angeles with chapters in Orange County and the Central Valley, the council is one of 40 regional councils in the National Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. (NMSDC) network, with members receiving extended outreach and access through NMSDC’s more than 3,500 corporations and 15,000 minority businesses.

Since SCMBDC’s founding nearly 30 years ago, corporate purchases with minority businesses have grown dramatically. In 2002, corporate purchases from SCMBDC certified minority vendors reached $6.8 billion, and corporate purchases from NMSDC minority vendors totaled $70 billion, up from $86 million in 1972.