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In May 2016, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that their new certification website, https://certify.sba.gov/, is open and functional for WOSB Procurement Program Participants. This new site allows users to certify their business, fill out WOSB and EDWOSB applications, submit questions/feedback online and more. The SBA also released a webinar that walks you through the process of using the site.
For busy women entrepreneurs who don’t have enough hours in the day, the SBA’s new site will provide much-needed convenience. By being able to quickly complete certification and WOSB processes, these business owners can focus their time and energy on making their businesses a success while also competing for federal contracts.
The SBA’s Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB)
Program allows Federal contracting officers to limit competition for Federal contracts to qualified Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) or Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSBs), in select industries.
The WOSB Program is an invaluable resource to women entrepreneurs, providing them with the pivotal business opportunity to secure a government contract. Last year, the program made headlines after Congress granted it sole source authority that officially permits contracting
officers to directly award federal contracts to women-owned businesses without having to complete the previous lengthy process.
“Meeting this goal means 5% is no longer our
ceiling but our foundation upon which to build,” stated
Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator of the SBA.
The importance and value of certifying as a women-owned business cannot be overstated. As the Small Business Administration (SBA) reveals in the Scorecard Summary for fiscal year 2015, HUD awarded over $360 million in contracts to women-owned small businesses (WOSB). This is just one agency dedicated to working with WOSB in the contracting arena.
The FDIC paid contractors $507.2 million in 2015, including $83.2 million paid to women-owned businesses (WOB) and $142.5 million paid to minority women-owned businesses (MWOB). Additionally, the FDIC awarded $858.4 million in contracts in 2015, of which $104.2 million went to women-owned businesses (WOB) and $211.6 to minority women-owned businesses (MWOB).
As this data elucidates, a variety of leading agencies, with enormous responsibilities and projects, beckon the assistance of diverse independent contractors from several industries.
These entities possess contracts and set-asides for women-owned, women-owned small businesses and small businesses within several designations. With the ever-growing diversity and inclusion (D&I) movement, a rising number of agencies are dedicating themselves to increasing the utilization of small businesses in the contracting arena.
A historic development, the WOSB Program once again displayed its value to women professionals when it announced in March 2016 that for the first time ever, the federal government surpassed its five percent women’s contracting goal, presently awarding 5.05 percent or $17.8 billion of federal small business contracts to women-owned small businesses.
“Meeting this goal means five percent is no longer our ceiling but our foundation upon which to build,” stated Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator of the SBA. “A recent SBA-commissioned study revealed women-owned businesses already employ eight million American workers, but when it comes to receiving contracts and capital, women are still under-represented. That’s why the SBA has added 36 new industry categories where women can now compete for set-aside contracts and sole-source awards. This will dramatically expand contracting opportunities for women-owned businesses, paving the way for new jobs and industries to be created.”
These opportunities for women-owned businesses, potentially worth millions of dollars, are pivotal. If you prepare yourself, you could be the next recipient of a million-dollar contract.
To learn more about certification and contracting opportunities, visit www.NAWRB.com and attend the 2016 3rd Annual NAWRB Women’s Diversity and Inclusion Conference August 30th-31st in Costa Mesa, CA.
