Supplier Certification
The Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council (CAMSC) has standardized procedures to assure consistent and identical review and certification of aboriginal and visible minority owned businesses.
The applicant may make inquiry and receive information and application forms from CAMSC. Applicant's business must be physically located in Canada. An application will only be ready for review by the Certification Committee when it is completed, properly signed with required verification documentation and accompanied by a non-refundable processing fee of $700.
In order to be certified by CAMSC as an aboriginal or visible minority supplier, an applicant must satisfy the following criteria:
- The applicant must be a for-profit enterprise
- The applicant must operate in Canada
- The applicant must be a Canadian citizen
- The applicant's business may be of any size
- The applicant must be able to operate as a supplier of products or services to other businesses; and
- The applicant's business must be owned and controlled by visible minorities or Aboriginal peoples.
- Visible minority: means persons other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour.
- Aboriginal peoples: means persons who are First Nation Inuit or Métis.
- Ownership by Aboriginal peoples, and/or visible minorities would mean that the business is at least 51% owned by such individuals. In the case of publicly owned businesses, at least 51% of the company's shares would have to be owned by one or more such individuals. Furthermore, the management and daily operations of these businesses must be controlled by visible minorities or Aboriginal peoples.
Certification Benefits for Aboriginal and Visible Minority Business Enterprises (AVMBEs)
Certification as an aboriginal or Minority Business Enterprise is primarily about increasing your access to procurement opportunities with multinational corporations, in Canada and the United States.
Certification verifies that your business is majority-owned (51%) and controlled by an aboriginal or minority. This is crucial to multinational corporations who need to demonstrate and measure diversity in the contracts they award to businesses.
CAMSC certification is the recommended method of your business connecting to corporate decision makers. Once you have been certified as an aboriginal or minority-owned and controlled business, CAMSC will:
- Facilitate opportunities for you to meet with procurement buyers from our member corporations - an impressive and growing list of top international corporations all eager to diversify their supply chains
- Place your business details on our membership database - searched by our corporate members as they seek to engage new and diverse suppliers
- Facilitate opportunities for you to meet with other aboriginal and minority business owners who are certified with us - a great chance to partner up to increase your exposure and tender for large contracts
Also important:
- Certification will be an important marketing tool for expanding your company's visibility among decision makers in corporate supply chain procurement
- National and multinational corporations are actively seeking certified AVMBEs to participate in their contracting efforts - they understand that a diverse pool of contractors brings greater choice, better value and more representation of society
- While you must still be competitive in price, quality and service, CAMSC certification will differentiate your business and ensure access to contract bidding opportunities that until now have been difficult to identify
- You will also be able to develop business-to-business trading opportunities as well as the creation of partnerships to enhance bidding capacity
- Remember that CAMSC's reciprocal agreement with the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) gives you access to all 37 NMSDC Regional Councils in the US and Puerto Rico expanding your procurement reach
Supplier Certification Application