CERTIFICATIONS
Organizations that meet certain prerequisites—such as being a small business or owned by U.S. veterans—are eligible for certification to access even more unique opportunities throughout the Federal and Private sectors!
WOMAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CERTIFICATION (WOSB)
In 2011, congress instated the WOSB program to give female business owners the opportunities they need to excel in industries that women have had historically disproportionate access to.
Now the federal government reserves 5% of the annual contracts that they allocate to businesses each year for WOSBs, which translates to billions of dollars in exclusive work opportunities that other registered businesses in the federal marketplace can’t compete for.
VETERAN OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CERTIFICATION (VOSB)
In 2003 congress passed the Veterans Benefits Act to jumpstart supplier networks across the nation, and give Veteran Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs) the room they need to thrive amongst the larger corporations in their field.
Or in franker terms, Certified Veterans have earned themselves the right to enjoy exclusive contracting opportunities which are restricted from the rest of their competition.
HUBZone Certification
In 1998 congress enacted HUBZone Empowerment as a part of the Small Business Reauthorization Act to assist business owners operating in historically underutilized business zones (or HUBZones).
In compliance with the act, the federal government now reserves 3% of the contracting opportunities they allocate every year for small businesses operating specifically in HUBZones. That’s billions of dollars in exclusive government work opportunities!
8(A) CERTIFICATION
In 1967 the U.S. Government merged two key federal systems to form the nation’s 8(A) program and give Minority and Disadvantaged Small Business owners the support they need to succeed within their industry.
Flash forward to today and 5% of yearly federal contracts are now reserved for 8(A) small business owners. That’s billions of dollars in exclusive work and grant opportunities which the rest of their competition in the federal marketplace can’t access!
GSA SCHEDULING
First established in 1949, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is designed to streamline the government’s administrative tasks and provide organizations with a direct line of work to the federal government through the GSA Multiple Award Schedule Program (Schedule) – especially if they’re small businesses.