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Minority Owned
Business
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Article 1: SBA Programs For Minority Businesses
The
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
offers two programs designed especially to
provide assistance to minority-, woman-owned and
small disadvantaged businesses: the 8(a)
Business Development Program and the Small
Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Certification
Program.
“The 8(a) Program offers a broad scope of
assistance to socially and economically
disadvantaged businesses,” says David King,
assistant administrator for the SBA’s office of
certification and eligibility. “The program
today has been strengthened and improved to be a
truly effective business development vehicle for
these firms. It allows 8(a) companies to form
beneficial teaming partnerships and enables
federal agencies to streamline the contracting
process.”
King explains that the term disadvantaged
business can incorporate both minority and
woman-owned businesses. “Woman-owned businesses
aren’t necessarily presumed to be disadvantaged,
but they can be placed in this category if they
can demonstrate that they are disadvantaged
because of gender.”
Socially and economically disadvantaged groups
that fall under the disadvantaged business
category include Black, Hispanic, Native, Asian
Pacific and Subcontinent Asian Americans.
The main benefit of being classified as an 8(a)
business is preferred access to prime federal
government contracting opportunities. The SBA
makes an extensive effort to provide contracting
opportunities to 8(a) businesses, and the
federal government is mandated by law to award
23 percent of all federal procurements to 8(a)
and SDB companies.
The SDB Program is strictly a federal
contracting program, and all 8(a) firms
automatically qualify for SDB certification.
“SDBs are eligible for special bidding benefits
on federal contracts,” says King. “They are free
to market themselves directly to federal
agencies, which receive credit when choosing
these companies, and as a subcontractor to
larger prime federal contractors,” says King.
“Large prime contractors like Lockheed, for
example, must submit a subcontractor plan, and
they also receive evaluation credits when
choosing SDBs. I have seen huge benefits to SDB
firms as a result of this.”
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