On June 1, 2021,  the Biden-Harris Administration announced that it would be taking proactive steps to narrow the racial wealth gap and reinvest in underserved and marginalized communities. Specifically, the Administration announced its intent to expand access to two key wealth-creators: homeownership and small business ownership. 

As a part of this effort, the Biden-Harris Administration is launching an expansive effort to increase contracting opportunities for underserved small businesses across the country. The goal of this effort is to increase the share of contracts going to small disadvantaged businesses by 50% by 2026. Federal agencies have been directed to assess every available tool to lower barriers to entry and increase opportunities for small businesses and traditionally-underserved entrepreneurs to compete for federal contracts. 

According to the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) website, a business may be registered as a small disadvantaged business if it meets the following criteria: 

• The business must be 51% or more owned and controlled by one or more disadvantaged persons. 
• The disadvantaged person or persons must be socially disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged.  
• The business must be small, according to SBA’s size standards.  

Further information can be found here: https://ecfr.federalregister.gov/current/title-13/chapter-I/part-124/subpart-B/section-124.1001

Businesses that qualify as a small disadvantaged business will want to ensure that they understand the requirements associated with the SBA's designation and keep an eye out for policies and and practices that will be instituted which will increase contracting opportunities across the federal government landscape. Also, subscribe to my posts. I'll be blogging on the latest developments as they emerge!