SPP Spreads to New Markets Across the Country and Results in Largest Ever Graduating Class
July 11, 2024
Clark Construction Group recently celebrated the achievements of 238 small business leaders from across the country, the newest graduates of its Strategic Partnership Program (SPP), and the largest graduating class to date.
The SPP is an intensive, months-long executive MBA-style course designed to equip small, minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned firms with the tools and knowledge they need to enhance the size, scale, and capacity of their business to contribute to large-scale construction projects.
Since its launch in 2006, the SPP has empowered over 1,600 entrepreneurs across the country. This year, Clark introduced the program in Richmond, Virginia, and Houston, Texas, expanding its reach and impact and bringing the total number of SPP markets to 9 nationwide, including Nashville, Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco, Southern California, and Washington, DC.
“I am thrilled Clark has expanded SPP to emerging firms in the Greater Richmond area. The companies in our inaugural cohort are now empowered with the knowledge on how to scale and attract greater opportunities through this program. I look forward to what they will accomplish,” said Brandon Shaw, vice president with Clark Construction leading the company’s efforts in Central Virginia.
Offered at no cost to qualifying firms, the program provides comprehensive training in construction management and business skills and emphasizes the importance of teamwork and forming strategic relationships, underscoring the critical role of collaboration in competing for new opportunities.
“Through SPP, I have forged valuable relationships with Clark leaders and industry peers. I am excited to put everything I’ve learned from the program into action and share what I’ve learned with my team,” said Houston SPP graduate and Botello Builders Corporation Co-President Eleazar Botello.
In 2021, Clark pledged to award $2.5 billion in new contracts to SPP alumni over the next decade through the SBDE15 initiative, ensuring that graduates have access to meaningful opportunities to grow their businesses. To date, $1.5 billion in contracts has been awarded to SPP graduates.
Clark will launch a new SPP cohort in San Diego this fall, furthering the company’s commitment to small business inclusion and growth from coast to coast.