October 11, 2019

A Guide to Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) Certification

What Is The WBE program?

The Women-Owned Business Enterprises (WBE) Program expands opportunities for women entrepreneurs to access government contracts and grow their businesses. When eligible businesses are certified with the City, they become more visible to prospective buyers, including City agencies and private contractors seeking to purchase goods and services.

WBE Eligibility Criteria

The minimum requirements to be eligible for the Women Business Enterprise certification, are as follows:

• 51% owned by a woman, or a group of women
• A for-profit business located in the United States
• Women owners are U.S. Citizens or legal residents
• Top executive officer, responsible for daily operations is a woman

Where to get certified as a Women-owned Business Enterprise

Determining the level of certification, you will require, really depends on what kind of business and customers you are trying to get. For companies that are interested in doing contract work for a government agency, it is essential to contact individual agencies to obtain their certification requirements. National certification is most beneficial for businesses that are looking to do work in the private sector. In many cases business owners will opt to get certified on multiple levels, thus not limiting themselves on the type of work they can bid on.

Once you have submitted your application to the appropriate agency, you can expect an in-person interview with a review committee and site visit to your place of business. The review process can take between four to six weeks. However, if everything in the application is complete the first time around, the process could be as quick as three weeks.