The Small Business Administration rolled out a new website on Aug. 16 designed to streamline the application and certification process for women-owned small businesses.
Certify.SBA.gov shifts the application and certification documents online into a single portal, where women-owned small business contractors can electronically file documentation.
“Small businesses are essential to the nation’s economy,” said Jerome Fletcher, GSA’s associate administrator for the Office of Small Business Utilization, in a statement.
“We recognize that doing business with the federal government is challenging even for major corporations. This new website will make it easier for small business owners to continue to secure government contracts.”
The WOSB program sets aside a number of federal contracts specifically for industries where women-owned businesses suffer from low representation.
WOSBs must meet SBA standards for small businesses, as well as be at least 51 percent owned or controlled by one or more women and managed by one or more women who are also U.S. citizens.
The new website offers electronic forms for WOSBs to apply for certification for federal contract competition, as well as criteria checklists and an online tool called “Am I Eligible?” to help small business owners determine which contract program best suits them. WOSB businesses can also upload third-party certifications to the new site.
SBA said that it will soon begin incorporating other WOSB programs into the website, starting with the 8(a) Business Development Program this fall, followed by the HUBZone Program and Dynamic Small Business Search in spring 2017.
