Minority-Owned Businesses
Counseling and training
The U.S. Small Business Administration leverages its field offices, resource partners, and additional partnerships to help level the playing field for business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs who historically have lacked access to wealth or business opportunities.
SBA Resource Partners |
SBA works with independent organizations to provide high-quality counseling and training to meet the specific needs of new and existing small businesses. This resource partner network includes SCORE business mentors, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), and Veterans Business Opportunity Centers (VBOCs). Several resource partner service centers are located at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across America. SBA resource partners provide counseling and training to business owners at all stages. |
---|---|
SBA Emerging Leaders Initiative |
The Emerging Leaders Initiative is an intensive executive-level series intended to accelerate the growth of high-potential small businesses in America’s underserved cities. The program provides customized training for C- level executives with demonstrated business sustainability. Participants create a three-year strategic growth action plan with benchmarks and performance targets to help them emerge as self-sustaining businesses creating jobs and building communities. |
Federal Partners |
The U.S. Department of Commerce operates the Minority Business Development Agency, which is dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of business enterprises owned and operated by African Americans, Asian Americans, Hasidic Jews, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders. |
Funding programs
The federal government does not provide grants to start a business. However, there are several funding programs to help entrepreneurs start, expand, or recover from disasters.
You can learn more about funding options for small business, including those targeted at minority and underserved communities, and get connected with SBA-approved lenders. SBA also offers several special coronavirus relief options and other recovery resources for underserved communities.
SBA contracting certifications and business development programs
8(a) Business Development Program |
The 8(a) Business Development program helps socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses grow by limiting competition for certain contracts to participating businesses, allowing them to become solid competitors in the federal marketplace. Disadvantaged businesses in the 8(a) program can:
|
---|---|
HUBZone Program |
The government limits competition for certain contracts to businesses in historically underutilized business zones. The program aims to award at least three percent of federal contract dollars each year to HUBZone-certified companies. |
SBA Mentor-Protégé Program |
The SBA Mentor-Protégé Program enables eligible small businesses (protégés) to get valuable business development help and win government contracts through partnerships with more experienced companies (mentors). |
Additional government contracting programs |
SBA offers several additional government contracting certifications and programs. |
SBA’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Civil Rights
All SBA Programs and services are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. You may contact SBA’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Civil Rights for additional information.
Connect with a SCORE, Small Business Development Center, Women's Business Center or Veterans Business Outreach Center adviser.
Together...
Together, we can make
your financial goals a reality.
Basic Elements - Legal Text
Source: SBA.gov
This material is provided for educational and information purposes only. It is not a replacement for the guidance or advice of an accountant, certified advisor, or otherwise qualified professional.