Veteran, minority, female-owned tech startup wins prestigious award

Shakeia Kegler

(Oct. 16, 2018) – GovLia, a South Florida-based technology company, has won first place in the prestigious AnitaB.org PitcHER™ contest. GovLia is an intuitive, cloud-based platform that simplifies every step of the procurement process for small business and government agencies.

AnitaB.org is one of the leading organizations for women in technology. Their mission is to support women in computing and organizations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative. In its inaugural year, the AnitaB.org PitcHER™ contest celebrates entrepreneurs from all industries who are leading early stage technology startups with the goal of empowering women and/or families and children.

GovLia’s prestigious honor will propel the company’s mission to provide small to mid-sized businesses prosperity opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach.

“We are humbled and honored to have been recognized for our innovative solutions by the AnitaB Organization,” says Shakeia Kegler, CEO of GovLia. “GovLia's marketplace allows small businesses and government agencies – for the first time - to fully streamline workflows and manage contracts efficiently; saving time, money and resources.”

Kegler, a military veteran and South Florida resident, founded GovLia in 2017:

 “My experiences in the Navy, as a purchaser and as a contract specialist at pharmaceutical company, is what lead me to create GovLia. GovLia is a play on the two words ‘government’ and ‘liaison’ because that is exactly what we are. I wanted to better foster economic opportunities and growth for diverse companies, so no one is left behind. The process needs to be as inclusive as possible, especially for those that are veteran, minority or women-owned,” explained Kegler. “Being that I am a female minority veteran myself, this aspect of my company is very important to me.”

GovLia was initially selected as one of the ten finalists to compete onstage at the Grace Hopper Celebration – the world’s largest gathering of women technologists. All finalists were chosen based on a range of criteria including innovation, impact and business model. Following a live pitching competition, GovLia was selected as the overall winner and awarded $25k in prize money.

“GovLia understands how hard it can be for small businesses in today’s economy. We believe that it is important for everyone to be given a chance to succeed,” says Kegler. “As an African American woman, I fully believe that both personally and professionally. At the end of the day, you gotta play the game to change the game.”

About GovLia: GovLia is a cloud-based platform that modernizes and simplifies the procurement process to enable small businesses to more efficiently participate in government contracts. Founded in 2017, GovLia is a minority, veteran and female-owned business. For more information please visit www.govlia.com.

About AnitaB Organization

AnitaB.org is one of the leading organizations for women in technology. Their mission is to support the women in computing and those organizations that view technology innovation as a strategic imperative. In its inaugural year, the AnitaB.org PitcHER™ contest celebrates entrepreneurs from all industries who are leading early stage technology startups with the goal of empowering women and/or families and children.