Obtaining the WOSB certification can benefit small women-owned businesses in the United States in many ways. The government of the United States has set a goal to support women-owned businesses so that these companies get recognition and thrive in the federal market.
With a WOSB certification, businesswomen can get help to increase leads, secure contracts, and make lucrative connections. In order to obtain the certification, you will need to make your business meets all the requirements and eligibility criteria. The certification of WOSB helps numerous businesses by providing WOSBs government contracting opportunities. In this blog, we are going to let you know how WOSB helps women-owned small businesses.
Why you should apply for WOSB certification?
First of all, if you are a female U.S. citizen and a businesswoman with a company that is into government contracting in the federal market of the United States then you can apply for WOSB. If your company is a small woman-owned business according to the standard of the Small Business Administration (SBA) then you should obtain the WOSB certification to get an ample amount of benefits. Even if your business is considered a minority-owned business or economically disadvantaged woman-owned small business then also you can apply for any women-owned business certification.
The government of the United States has decided to provide government contracting opportunities to women-owned businesses. The plan is to award 5% of all government contracts to Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) or Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSBs).
Benefits of WOSB certification
The program WOSB helps many women-owned businesses in the United States. The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers several financing programs for companies that are in need of funds. The SBA WOSB certification offers many benefits only to the companies that are eligible and WOSB-approved. Some of the most remarkable benefits of WOSB certification are mentioned below:
WOSB federal contracting program
One of the major advantages of the women-owned business certification is the potential to compete for winning lucrative government contracts in the federal market of the United States. Numerous government contracts are awarded to qualified female-owned businesses each year in the United States. By participating in WOSB programs, companies get less number of competitors which makes winning government contracts less competitive for them. The government of the United States limits competition for female-owned businesses that are participants of the Women-owned Small Business (WOSB).
Competitive set-aside contracts
Competing with well-established companies as a small or disadvantaged businesses in the federal market is challenging. Some government contracts in the federal market are only meant for women-owned small businesses in the United States. These government contracts are set aside by the U.S. government agencies and that is why they are known as ‘set-aside contracts’ for certified women-owned businesses.
There is a 5% quota is required to be met by the U.S. government. These set-aside contracts are solely developed for women-owned businesses and minority-owned businesses, which are certified. The goal of the U.S. government is to award such contracts in industries where businesswomen are underrepresented.
Sole-source contracts
The sole-source contracts eliminate the bidding process for the WOSBs. If a women-owned small business can fulfill a project then the company gets access to the lucrative government contract. So the certification WOSB help certified companies by giving them access to sole-source contracts and eliminating the need of going through the bidding process.
Educational benefit
Some training and educational programs are developed exclusively for WOSBs. The WOSB certification allows companies to apply for the Mentor-Portege program. Through this program, WOSB-certified companies can connect with several business owners to achieve growth. Some great advantages are mentioned below:
Accounting, marketing, technical, and management training.
Potential financial assistance in the form of loans, investments, and bonds.
Support through the process of the federal contracting program.
Strategy and business development training.
Eligibility criteria for obtaining the WOSB certification
The company has to be small in size according to the standards of the Small Business Administration (SBA).
The business has to be owned and controlled at least 51% by the owners.
The owners of the business should be female.
The owner must have U.S. citizenship.
The owner should be responsible for making long-term decisions for the business.
How to apply for WOSB
Now that we know the major benefits of the WOSB certification and how WOSB help certified businesses let’s look at how to apply for WOSB certification. In order to obtain the certification, you will need to go through a definite process. We have broken down this process into two simple steps so that you can understand the process in an easier way.
You can self-certify through the Small Business Administration (SBA) website. This step is optional in the procedure.
Simply fill out the application online.
Once you have obtained the certification, you will need to maintain the certification status.
Conclusion
So consider applying for WOSB certification to get government contracting opportunities and thrive in the federal market of the United States.
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