Public Spend Forum (PSF)
This partnership furthers PSF’s mission to create Open Government Markets by lowering the barriers to entry for emerging and innovative companies while making it easier for government to find innovative companies.
Through this partnership, PSF will deploy GovShop, its AI-enabled government to industry matching platform, to identify emerging women-led tech companies who have the potential to support critical public missions including those in the defense and national security sectors. PSF will also provide research support to the Shatter Foundation, founded by the Shatter Fund, to connect girls in under-served communities with access to capital, networks and markets.
“We believe women-led companies and women entrepreneurs are critical to accomplishing Public Spend Forum’s mission of Open Government Markets. That’s why I’m excited to put our AI-matching engine and our research team to work in bringing women entrepreneurs and their innovative solutions to the public sector,” said Raj Sharma, Co-Founder and CEO of PSF. Raj Sharma has also served on the Board of Girl Rising, a global initiative for female education and empowerment.
Public Spend Forum and The Shatter Fund’s partnership was announced at the Shatter Summit on March 10, 2021, a virtual conference highlighting the “critical importance” of investing in women. Women leaders from across tech, venture, sports, politics and business participated at the Shatter Summit to discuss the importance of investing in women across sectors.
Shelly Kapoor Collins, Founder of the Shatter Fund and former tech advisor to now Vice President Kamala Harris, hosted the Shatter Summit to celebrate women who shattered the glass ceiling across a variety of fields.
“There is a clear link between diversity and innovation, which leads to greater returns”, said Collins. The Shatter Fund is built on three pillars, one of which is providing women led and founded companies with access to new markets. Shatter Fund is excited to provide these companies with the tools to efficiently navigate the public sector and connect with buyers who are looking for their services in a market ripe for new players”.
PSFs mission is to create open government markets – where government buyers and companies across industries connect efficiently – through its GovShop platform. GovShop is a free supplier and contract intelligence platform for the public sector that is transforming government procurement through market intelligence and better matching outcomes.