Panagora Group is proud to be selected as USAID Small Business of the Year. Panagora President and CEO Betsy Bassan expressed her excitement and gratitude to USAID for the acknowledgment and opportunities that led to this award.
“I am honored to receive this award and so grateful for all that USAID and the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization team do to create opportunities for small business to support USAID’s health, development, and humanitarian goals,” said Bassan who accepted the award at the USAID’s 12th Annual Small Business Conference. “I am so proud of the great work Panagora and other small businesses do in developing countries through USAID to promote American values of entrepreneurship, innovation, and self-reliance.”
In eight years, Panagora has grown from a two-person team engaged in short-term subcontracts to a nearly 80-strong global team working in 14 countries, managing multiple long-term prime and subcontracts. Bassan is thrilled Panagora is true to its original vision and mission of “making our world a better place for good” (both doing good and making it stick) and recognized for providing high–quality services that support USAID’s Journey to Self-Reliance.
“Small businesses play a unique and crucial role in helping USAID achieve its mission to raise living standards, improve access to services, and enable individuals to realize their full potential,” Bassan said. Recognizing that small businesses are the engine behind the U.S. economy, Panagora applauds USAID’s goal to proactively diversify its small business partner base and leverage its energy and innovation for international development.
Since its launch in 2011, Panagora has advocated for small businesses, including women-owned small businesses, which account for 30 percent of all U.S. small business. “Small businesses are agile and creative,” said Bassan, who served as the chair of the Small Business Association for International Companies, taking it from an informal network into a significant advocacy organization. “We are right-sized to support USAID’s vision to build up local partners, who see us as natural allies because of our size and adaptability.”
Panagora Group is a woman-owned small business based in Silver Spring, Maryland. They work collaboratively to identify and promote evidence-based, sustainable solutions that drive improvements in health, equity, and well-being for disadvantaged populations around the world. To learn more about the Panagora Group follow this link.
