Definitions

Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)

To qualify as an MBE, a business must be at least 51 percent owned, controlled, and actively operated by one or more members of an ethnic minority.
  • Asian-Indian - A U.S. citizen whose origins are from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, or Nepal.
  • Asian-Pacific - A U.S. citizen whose origins are from Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Trust Territories of the Pacific or the Northern Marianas.
  • African-American - A U.S. citizen having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
  • Hispanic - A U.S. citizen of true-born Hispanic heritage, from any of the Spanish-speaking areas of Latin America or the following regions: Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean Basin only.
  • Native-American - A person who is an American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut or Native Hawaiian, and regarded as such by the community of which the person claims to be a part. Native Americans must be documented members of a North American tribe, band or otherwise organized group of native people who are indigenous to the continental United States and proof can be provided through a Native American Blood Degree Certificate (i.e., tribal registry letter, tribal roll register number).

Women Business Enterprise (WBE)

To qualify as a WBE, a business must be at least 51 percent owned, controlled, and actively operated by one or more women.

Veteran Business Enterprise (VBE)

To qualify as a VBE, a business must be at least 51 percent owned, controlled, and actively operated by one or more veterans.

Small Business (SB)

To qualify as small business, a business concern eligible for assistance from SBA as a small business is one that is organized for profit, with a place of business located in the United States. It must operate primarily within the United States or make a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor. Together with its affiliates, it must meet the numerical size standards as defined in the Small Business Size Regulations, 13 CFR 121. To determine the size standard of your business, visit the size standards page on the Small Business Administration (SBA) website.
  • Woman-Owned and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB, VOSB)
    To qualify as a WOSB or VOSB, the business must be a small business (as defined in definition above) that is at least 51 percent owned, controlled, and actively operated by one or women or veterans, respectively.
  • Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)
    An SDVOSB is at least 51% owned by one or more service-disabled veterans (as defined in 38 USC 101(16)). Individual(s) must be involved in the day-to-day management of the business. In the case of a permanent or severe disability, the spouse or caregiver of such a service-disabled veteran may control the management and daily operations.
  • Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB)
    An SDB (as defined by the SBA) is at least 51 percent owned by one or more individuals who are both socially and economically disadvantaged. This can include a publicly owned business that has at least 51 percent of its stock unconditionally owned by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and whose management and daily business is controlled by one or more such individuals. Further, to qualify for participation in the Program, an SDB must be certified with the U.S. Small Business Administration under 13 CFR 124.


    • To learn more about the SBA's SDB certification, visit the SBA SDB homepage.
  • Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone)
    A HUBZone is an area that is located in one or more of the following:

    • A qualified census tract (as defined in section 42(d)(5)(C)(i)(I) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986);
    • A qualified "non-metropolitan county" (as defined in section 143(k)(2)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) with a median household income of less than 80 percent of the State median household income or with an unemployment rate of not less than 140 percent of the statewide average, based on US Department of Labor recent data; or
    • Lands within the boundaries of federally recognized Indian reservations.
    To learn more about the SBA's HUBZone Program, visit the HUBZone Program homepage.