SBA's New Mentor-Protégé Program for All Small Businesses Presents New Opportunities and Challenges

In 2010 and again in 2013, Congress directed SBA to adopt a mentor-protégé program for all categories of small business that mirrors SBA’s existing 8(a) Business Development mentor-protégé program. This includes small business concerns (SBCs), as well as Women-owned, HUBZone, and potentially Service- Disabled Veteran Owned SBCs. This past summer, SBA issued a final rule setting the framework for this expansive mentor protégé program. In the fall of 2016, SBA began to implement the apparatus to receive, review and approve mentor-protégé applications for this new program.

This new program is a game-changer and will have a substantial impact on the federal procurement market for all categories of small business set-asides, including the 8(a) program.

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