Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Apply for your MWBE Certification

If you a owner of a minority or woman business, you may qualify to earn a certificate as a MWBE ( Minority- Women Business Enterprise). There is certain qualifications to be certified as a Woman Business Enterprise. Some of these include:

  1. Fifty-one percent ( 51%) of the ownership is by a woman or a group of women.
  2. Evidence of proof of 51% majority control of the business, i.e. by-laws, hire-fire authority and other decision-making roles.
  3. Must seek certification in expertise area.

Obtaining a MBE is a little different due to the fact that the certificate is processed at the local level or regional level. Some offices require the company to have at least a 75% ethnic heritage ownership. The best way to find specific information would be to contact your city or municipal offices. You can also log onto www.mwbe-enterprises.com to get general information.

3 comments:

Black Domestic Goddess said...

Excellent info as always, Paula. I will have to look more into this.

Paula Blanton said...

Thanks!

KWA said...

Paula - Excellent summary of the MWBE process, your advice about contacting your local government offices is critical to getting on the right track. I run a directory website for DMWBE companies involved with the built environment, www.dmwbe.com, that offers free listings for DMWBE companies in the design & construction industry - average views for the free listings are about 15 per month and I can tell when a major construction project is being planned when views jump to 50+ in a particular area of expertise or geography. The business is out there but without registration - it's like the lottery - you can't win if you don't buy.