Illinois APEX Accelerator Webinar: State of Illinois Business Enterprise Program and Veteran Business Program Application Preparation

Presented by Keli Krueger-Huhra, Director – Illinois APEX Accelerator at Champaign County EDC

The BEP/VBP program promotes the economic development of businesses owned and operated by minorities, women, persons with disabilities, veterans, and service-disabled veterans and supports their participation in the State’s overall procurement process as both prime and subcontractors. This program serves as one of the state government’s primary gateways into contracting for small businesses.  State agencies and universities have a goal to buy at least 30% of goods and services from BEP-certified businesses and at least 3% of their procurement budgets with certified veteran-owned (VBP) businesses. Please join us as we discuss the requirements and the process for obtaining this certification.

Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Time: 10:30-11:30 AM

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_CE1aMXFeSp2WVSRrCnRgIw 
*After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

PLEASE NOTE: this webinar will be recorded and may be shared publicly. By registering for this webinar, you understand that your questions or comments shared during the webinar will be recorded and made available in the public domain.