The federal government has surpassed its 5 percent contracting goal for Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) for the first time in history, according to Maria Contreras-Sweet, administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and a member of President Obama’s Cabinet.<\/p>\n
“Meeting this goal means five percent is no longer our ceiling but our foundation upon which to build,” said Contreras-Sweet on March 3.<\/p>\n
“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,” she said. “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.”<\/p>\n
Contracting accomplishments include:<\/p>\n
\u2022 In fiscal year 2015, 5.05 percent or $17.8 billion of all federal small business eligible contracting dollars were awarded to WOSBs, the first time this specific benchmark has ever been reached. Since taking over as SBA administrator, Contreras-Sweet has made it a top priority to increase federal contracting opportunities for Women-Owned Small Businesses.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The federal government surpassed its 23 percent small business procurement goal for the third year in a row, awarding an all-time high of 25.75 percent, or $90.7 billion, in federal contracts to small businesses. These contracting funds support more than 537,000 jobs and have a significant impact on job creation, innovation, and growth in communities throughout the country.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Federal contract dollars awarded to Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) and Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB) also reached historic highs. For the 4th consecutive year, the federal government exceeded the goal for SDVOSBs, achieving 3.93 percent or $13.8 billion of all federal small business eligible contracting dollars. SDBs received 10.06 percent or $35.4 billion of all small business eligible contracting dollars, the highest percentage in history.
\nContreras-Sweet said these findings will be used to expand opportunities for women-owned businesses and provide a broader range of industries for contracting officers to find eligible women-owned businesses.<\/p>\n
In April 2013, WIPP, American Express and the SBA partnered to launch ChallengeHER, a national initiative to help boost government contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses.<\/p>\n
“Small businesses often get too little credit for their work as our nation’s leading job-creators, generating nearly two out of three net new jobs in our economy,” Contreras-Sweet added. “Last fiscal year the federal government awarded its highest percentage of contracting dollars to small businesses in the history of the United States, totaling more than $90 billion.<\/p>\n
“Those resources supported more than half a million jobs in communities across this country. When these federal dollars churn in local communities, they create a multiplier effect that strengthens the local tax base and leads to better government services and better schools. That’s the promise of our work.”<\/p>\n
The SBA’s complete annual procurement scorecard will be released later this year. To learn more about the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program, visit www.sba.gov\/wosb.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The federal government has surpassed its 5 percent contracting goal for Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) for the first time in history, according to Maria Contreras-Sweet, administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and a member of President Obama’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n