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Many people are talking about Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) certification. What does it mean for your business?
It can be a great way to open up many new business opportunities within your industry. No, you will not automatically win grants by having this certification and no, it does not ensure you will get a bid on a job you are seeking. However, certification will give you an edge over a business that is not certified in winning contracts from the government.
The benefit of becoming a certified MWBE business is that it puts you on a New York State (NYS) directory of certified minority and womenowned business enterprises list This enables the state agencies and authorities, prime contractors, vendors, municipalities, subcontractors, and the private sector to look at companies that are certified to help to meet the NYS requirement of 30 percent of the project being performed by minority or women-owned businesses. As a certified MWBE, your company will have access to a variety of loan and bonding programs as well as programs that proride technical assistance.
Who qualifies as an MWBE company? To be certified as a minority or women-owned business, you must be an independently owned and operated business authorized to do business in NYS that is at least 51 percent owned...