Ellen Lord: DOD's Digital Marketplace Seeks to Drive 'Trusted' Partnerships Between Investors, Companies

The Department of Defense has launched an electronic marketplace with the goal of connecting small- to medium-sized businesses to capital providers for emerging national security technology requirements.

DOD said Wednesday it established the Trusted Capital Digital Marketplace program to offer SMBs access to an investment network designed to drive defense industrial base innovation and address risks from adversarial capital sources.

Colin Supko, director of DOD Trusted Capital, oversees the program with Katie Arrington, chief information security officer in the department’s acquisition and sustainment office and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient.

“Trusted Capital works by providing opportunities for trusted financial institutions and qualifying companies to explore mutually beneficial partnerships in support of national security goals,” said Ellen Lord, the Pentagon’s acquisition chief and a four-time Wash100 awardee.

The department will vet defense-critical and dual-use technology providers for marketplace participation and is encouraging interested government contractors to request an invitation to apply from a contracting officer.

DOD noted that vendors who want to participate in the program but do not hold any government contracts can express interest in the down-selection process with military service stakeholders.

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