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Minority Owned Business
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Article 2: The SBA 8(a) Program
The 8(a) Business
Development Program is one of two primary
programs offered by the
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to
provide assistance to minority, woman-owned and
small disadvantaged businesses. All 8(a) firms
receive preferred access to prime federal
government contracting opportunities. They also
receive business development assistance and
support in the areas of marketing, finance,
management and surety bonding.
“The goal of the 8(a) Program is to support and
assist small businesses to help them develop to
the point that they can compete successfully in
the marketplace without government assistance,”
says David King, assistant administrator for the
SBA’s office of certification and eligibility.
“We want to show small businesses not only how
they can compete in the federal contracting
arena, but also how to take advantage of greater
subcontracting opportunities through large
businesses as the result of public-private
partnerships.”
King notes that the SBA uses its popular
Service Corps of Retired Executives, or
SCORE, program as a major counseling resource to
analyze the operations of 8(a) businesses and
recommend possible solutions. “Our SCORE
volunteers have provided a wealth of knowledge
to 8(a) companies,” he says.
Each 8(a) company is assigned a Business
Opportunity Specialist (BOS) who serves as a
point person to help the company access the
different types of assistance that are
available. In addition to providing access to
prime federal contracts, the 8(a) Program also
helps small businesses obtain contracts from
large non-government companies. There are three
primary methods by which the SBA provides this
kind of assistance:
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Direct marketing — The SBA undertakes
specific activities designed to promote
business relationships between 8(a) firms
and large companies. These include
establishing preliminary contact with these
companies on behalf of the 8(a) firm and
providing necessary follow-up assistance to
the 8(a) firm in the development of this
relationship.
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Indirect marketing — The SBA
maintains contact with many large companies
and informs them of the capabilities of 8(a)
firms in their areas that might be able to
meet their needs.
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Self marketing — The SBA provides
support and guidance to help 8(a) firms
market their products and services directly
to large companies. The BOS will arrange for
counseling in any area that will help the
firm market itself, including effective
sales presentations and any technical or
management areas.
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