The Los Angeles Business Council Institute (LABCi), joined by LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games sponsors JPMorgan Chase, AECOM, Cisco, and CDW, announced the expansion of the Compete4LA platform to help local small businesses win contracts for the 2028 Summer Olympics and other major events and projects, including Super Bowl LXI and the Los Angeles Convention Center expansion.
LABCi is expanding Compete4LA’s capabilities through networking events and targeted programs designed to connect small businesses with prime contractors, City and County agencies, and employers involved in large-scale events and projects across the L.A. region. The campaign builds on the success of LABCi’s Compete4LA procurement platform, developed in partnership with the USC Dornsife Spatial Sciences Institute.
Compete4LA provides an unparalleled mappable and searchable database of 40,000 diverse local small suppliers across L.A. County with annual revenue of up to $5 million. This first-of-its-kind directory maps the small businesses, specifies their NAICS code, and overlays the sites of all Olympic and Paralympic Games venues.
The Compete4LA enhancements will enable businesses on the platform to participate in a series of in-person “Meet the Primes” events, where entrepreneurs can speak directly to employers to gain both insight into upcoming contracting opportunities and practical guidance on becoming an approved vendor. The events will feature procurement professionals from LABC member companies in key industries on Compete4LA, including construction, hospitality, manufacturing, transportation, and professional services.
“LA28, local government leaders, and major event organizers are making an unprecedented commitment to hiring small businesses in the coming months and years,” said LABC Institute President Mary Leslie. “With a pool of 40,000 local small suppliers, Compete4LA starts with a strategic advantage, and our new initiatives give small businesses a further leg up by increasing access to contractors and professional resources to help them learn about opportunities and compete more effectively for contracts.”
The Compete4LA campaign will also feature a mentorship program that will pair local businesses with experienced larger prime contractors. To kickstart engagement to widen their pool of potential suppliers, contractors are able to download information on up to 200 small businesses from the Compete4LA platform free of charge.
“Now that the World Cup has come to a close, all eyes are on the Super Bowl next February and the Olympics in 2028,” said LABCi Chair Bob Graziano. “Global events like these can create long-term economic benefits for the L.A. region, and Compete4LA will help enable local small businesses to be a part of that legacy long after the closing ceremonies.”
The LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games are projected to generate around $17 billion in economic activity. LA28, the organizing committee, has set a target of awarding 25% of its addressable procurement spending to small businesses in the Los Angeles region. As a business resource, Compete4LA complements the City of Los Angeles’s RAMP LA site, where active LA28 procurement announcements and bid opportunities are posted.
LABCi’s extensive partnerships with LA28 sponsors, major employers, and public agencies uniquely position Compete4LA as the go-to source for small business procurement. Among others, LA28 sponsors who are also LABC members, including JPMorgan Chase, AECOM, Cisco, CDW, and Cedars-Sinai, have supported the platform’s development and are participating in the new Compete4LA initiatives.
“JPMorganChase has supported Compete4LA since its inception,” said Sarah Bowles Carter, Vice President and Program Officer for Global Philanthropy at JPMorganChase. “As Official Bank of Team USA and the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games (LA28 Games), and a Founding Partner of the LA28 Games, we’re proud to use our scale and expertise to strengthen Los Angeles small businesses—that includes leveraging critical resources like Compete4LA so local businesses can execute contracts and grow their businesses before, during, and after the LA28 Games.”
“As LA28’s Official Venue Infrastructure Partner, AECOM is committed to providing local small businesses with the opportunity to take part in L.A.’s biggest events and projects,” said Ken Billups, AECOM’s Vice President for Community and Industry Engagement. “I applaud the LABC Institute for creating a valuable resource that offers small businesses the tools, insights and connections to help them win contracts.”
Compete4LA reflects LABCi’s commitment to identifying eligible small businesses that can support major events and its goal to ensure that major investments benefit communities across the region, including areas where companies have historically lacked access to capital and procurement opportunities.
“Compete4LA brings science and technology to the important task of empowering small businesses,” said Professor John Wilson, founding director of the Spatial Sciences Institute at USC. “The LABC Institute is passionate about broadening economic opportunity in the L.A. region, and we couldn’t be more honored to participate in this path-setting project.”
In addition to the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games, LABCi will be tailoring Compete4LA events for procurement opportunities on other projects, including the expansion of the L.A. Convention Center, and holding networking sessions in several districts around the County.
About the Los Angeles Business Council Institute
The LABC Institute is a forward-thinking research and education organization dedicated to strengthening the sustainable economy of California. Founded in 2010, the Institute provides a bridge between the business, government, environmental, labor and nonprofit communities of Southern California to develop policies and programs that promote investment, jobs and business development. The Institute is an independent 501c (3) organization working with the Los Angeles Business Council, one of the most respected business advocacy organizations in the region. Founded in 1936, the LABC is known as an innovator and catalyst for policy development on a wide range of issues, including education, housing, green building, energy efficiency, transportation and solar development. For more information, please visit labusinesscouncil.org.
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