The Minority Women Business Enterprise (MWBE) certification is awarded solely to minority women with the goal of growing their small business and get proper access to numerous government contracts.
The MWBE can help make a business more visible to private firms, but also the government agencies awarding contracts.
The requirements of the MWBE program are simple – the business needs to be owned or mostly controlled (at least 51% of stocks) by a woman or a group of women from one of the many minorities in the United States. Furthermore, most of the daily business operations and the management of the company must be handled by a woman.
These are not at all different from Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) programs which have been helping minority small business owners succeed for a long time. Many of those business owners are women, hence the different certification which we will further elaborate on. We will help you gain a clearer picture of how it can help you grow your small business in the realm of government contracting.
The Benefits That Propel Growth
First of all, one of the main reasons for the existence of these certifications is to help you gain access to many government contracts. There are plenty of government agencies that offer the certifications on the local, state, as well as federal level.
Depending on where and how you want to grow your business, several of these agencies are bound to help you by enabling you to get certified.
- Access to Supply Chains
One of the main reasons that MWBE certifications can help grow your company is the fact that many government entities are required by law to purchase a specific percentage of their supplies from a minority or women-owned businesses.
It ensures that your company will be selling and thus growing from these contracts. Additionally, if your product or service is of higher quality, you’ll have a chance of supplying some of these entities in much higher amounts as they will undoubtedly want to purchase more from you than what the law requires them.
- Financial Benefits
Minority-owned businesses and especially the ones owned by minority women have traditionally gained far less financial backing than their counterparts (non-minority and male-owned enterprises.)
With the goal of improving these outcomes, many programs fund only minority and women-owned companies. Certifications play a vital role here as they help legitimize and document the status of your company which will grant you better funding in the end.
- Networking
The certifications provide another significant benefit that propels the growth of your company – access to valuable networking programs where you get the chance of finding potential customers, mentors, development opportunities, and more.
Conclusion
The benefits of MWBE certifications are many, and most of them will help you grow your company in the realm of government contracting, which is what is needed for your small business.
If you want to know more about these programs and certifications, don’t hesitate to contact us at Chestnut Street Consulting LLC where we specialize in assisting minority and women-owned businesses and get them started in the realm of government contracting.