8a-SDB Program Overview

You may be aware of the SBA's 8(a) program, which is a 9-year program designed to assist companies in their ability to compete for federal contracts where the majority owner(s) are both socially and economically disadvantaged.

Participation in the program is divided into two phases over nine years: a four-year developmental stage and a five-year transition stage. In addition, 8(a) participants may take advantage of specialized business training, counseling, marketing assistance, and high-level executive development provided by the SBA and their various resource partners. 8(a) firms can also be eligible for assistance in obtaining access to surplus government property and supplies, SBA-guaranteed loans, and bonding assistance for being involved in the 8(a)program.

8(a) Program Benefits

Ability to receive sole source awards up to $4,000,000.

Ability to compete for those opportunities that are set-aside for 8(a) certified firms only.

Ability to enter into the SBA's Mentor-Protege Program to be mentored by a more established company that can also serve as your joint venture partner to pursue larger opportunities.

Mentor - Protege Program

The Mentor-Protege component of the 8(a) program affords your firm the opportunity to joint venture with a large or more established business who can serve as your mentor, which will allow you to compete for even larger and more complex solicitations where you can combine the resources, qualifications, and past performance references of both firms in the proposal in order to be more competitive. In this regard, The |S|B|G|A| Contracting Consulting and Training provides timely and expert assistance at an affordable price to help companies obtain their 8(a) certification.

8(a) - SDB Program Eligibility Criteria

Majority owner(s) must be socially disadvantaged based on ethnicity (minorities), gender (female), etc.

Majority owner(s) must be economically disadvantaged, meaning they possess a net-worth that does not exceed $250,000 (or $500k if married) excluding equity in the primary residence, equity in retirement accounts, and equity in the business.

Must be in business for a minimum of two years and can show two tax returns (requirement is waiver able).

Majority owner(s) must be able to show experience/education in the company's industry in order to manage and control the firm.

Majority owner(s) must possess the license/certification required to operate the business if required (i.e. electrical license, etc.).

It is recommend that the majority owner(s) devote full time to the business and not have outside employment (should not be employed by another company in the same industry).

It is recommended that no more than 50% of the company's income be derived from one non-governmental customer in order to show economic independence.

Majority owner(s) and the company must not have delinquent federal taxes, or at least be able to show that a payment plan with the IRS has been established.

It is recommended that the majority owner(s) not have filed bankruptcy in the past 7 years.

It is recommended that the majority owner(s) not have been recently arrested and convicted of a felony.

If the majority owner(s) own other businesses, those businesses will be deemed as "affiliated companies."

When the revenue amounts and number of employees of these other businesses are added to the amount of revenue and number of employees of the firm applying for the 8(a) program, the revenue amounts and the number of employees must not exceed the size standard of the applicant firm's primary NAICS code.

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