Registering small businesses for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) suite of support programs can be daunting. The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana (HCCL) works to facilitate this for its member businesses. Over the past year, the HCCL hosted the Louisiana District of the SBA to conduct workshops in Lafayette and New Orleans to assist eligible small businesses with SBA’s System for Awards Management (SAM) registration and certification processes.
Small Business and SBA awards include:
- 8(a) – Businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals can register for the Business Development Program under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act.
- Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) – The federal government aims to award at least 5% of all federal contracting dollars to women-owned small businesses each year.
- Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) – The HUBZone program fuels small business growth in historically underutilized business zones with a goal of awarding at least 3% of federal contract dollars to HUBZone-certified companies each year.
- Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise – helps veteran-owned small businesses access federal contract awards.
Our collaboration with the HCCL has assisted the SBA Louisiana District Office in achieving its goal of increasing the federal government’s small business contracting base and the dollars awarded to small businesses in Louisiana. The importance of having an active SAM registration makes the small businesses eligible to participate in the $650 billion federal government marketplace,” says Jo Ann Lawrence, Deputy District Director (Louisiana), U.S. SBA.
More than 300 small businesses have participated so far and have either registered or completed their certification applications. Participants receive training and technical assistance designed to strengthen their ability to compete effectively in the economy and, once certified, become eligible to receive federal contracting preferences, training and technical assistance.
Access to Capital
The SBA Louisiana District Office collaborated with HCCL to conduct the inaugural Access to Capital sessions in Kenner for 50 small business owners. The sessions provided information about applying for the SBA Guaranty Loan Program under section 7(a) of the Small Business Act.
Hispanic Chamber’s Annual Town Hall Roundtable
SBA has been an active participant and panelist of the HCCL’s Annual Town Hall Roundtable and luncheon since its inception nine years ago.
“Through this relationship and participation, the SBA has been able to reach and engage with more small businesses to get them active in doing business with the federal government,” says Lawrence.
