The Small Business Administration is kicking off a major program in the new year — certifying veteran ownership status for small businesses looking to compete for federal government contracts.
SBA, starting in January. In September, it began accepting applications to certify new, established small businesses through its Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) program.
The agency is taking over the job from the Department of Veterans Affairs, as required by the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.
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The Small Business Administration is kicking off a major program in the new year — certifying veteran ownership status for small businesses looking to compete for federal government contracts.
SBA, starting in January. In September, it began accepting applications to certify new, established small businesses through its Veteran Small Business Certification (VetCert) program.
The agency is taking over the job from the Department of Veterans Affairs, as required by the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act.
Larry Stubblefield, deputy director of the SBA’s Office of Government Contracts and Business Development, said that prior to the FY 2021 NDAA, veteran-owned small businesses must self-certify their status to compete for non-VA contracts.
“By transferring responsibility to the SBA and establishing a federally-wide certification program, we are taking steps to end self-certification in federal veteran contracts,” Stubblefield said in an interview Monday.
The SBA’s VetCert program will serve as the government-wide center for verifying the status of Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs) and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses Serving Disabilities (SDVOSBs).
Both classifications allow eligible suppliers to compete for single-source and reserved federal contracts.
Certified veteran-owned small businesses are eligible to compete for single-source and reserve contracts at the VA, while certified service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses can compete government-wide for single-source and reserve contracts.
Federal agencies spend $25 billion on government contracts with SDVOSB in FY2021.
The SBA is migrating approximately 2.2 million records from the VA to support the VetCert program. But it also brought in the VA team that handled the work and expanded it.
The agency hired 13 former Veterans Affairs employees and hired seven additional employees. It also brought in more than 50 former VA contractor employees to handle application processing and run its call center.
SBA has chosen not to migrate VA’s certification management system. Instead, the agency is bringing all of its accreditation and loan programs onto a unified digital platform called MySBA.
“It’s our SBA thing, and we know we have to. When you think about it from a customer experience standpoint, it’s the right thing to do,” Stubblefield said.
VetCert is the first certification program to be built on the MySBA platform and is expected to be fully operational by Spring 2024. Stubblefield said the SBA is looking at the HUBZone certification as a second project to migrate to the new platform.
“This will allow them to go through a single portal — download their files, register and then be able to access all of our programs on this single platform,” Stubblefield said.
By consolidating all of its programs into one platform, eligible small businesses can apply for multiple certifications without having to resubmit information the SBA should already have on file, Stubblefield said.
“A veteran [small business] Owners apply for a certificate, perhaps their Women Owned Small Business Certificate.Within the next year or two, they hope to apply for HUBZone certification,” said Stubblefield. [as] Separate entity, separate office, which will unify all of our certification and lending programs. “
While developing the MySBA platform, the SBA held several hearings with the veteran community and invited veterans to observe how they navigate the system.
“It’s a program that we’ve developed with the knowledge of an experienced small business community every step of the way,” said Stubblefield.
The SBA sees MySBA as an opportunity to get more veterans on federal contracts. Approximately 21,000 Veteran-owned small businesses have self-certified on the General Services Administration’s SAM.gov website.
“We want to grow those numbers and our federal contractor numbers through the use of technology and MySBA,” Stubblefield said.
The SBA is currently only processing certification applications for new and established small businesses.
Beginning January 1, the SBA has offered a one-time one-year extension to existing veteran small businesses verified by the Center for Veterans Administration Verification and Evaluation (CVE). Number 1, 2023.
The SBA and VA said the VetCert program demonstrates the Biden administration’s commitment to improving the government customer experience through interagency collaboration.
“Veteran-owned small businesses are eligible for critical benefits and well-deserved support because of the selfless service their owners have rendered to our country,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Dennis McDonough said in a statement. “Certification is a critical part of the process, and I encourage all eligible veterans to begin submitting their application for certification to the Small Business Administration today.”
SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said the SBA’s new Veterans Small Business Certification Program reflects the agency’s “commitment to providing Excellent support”.
“Supporting these veteran entrepreneurs who receive government contracts will ensure that they can continue to provide valuable services to the American people, whether that’s working in manufacturing, retail, research and development, or helping us build the much-needed infrastructure for America’s long-term growth. Job creation, and wealth creation,” Guzman said.