8(a) Business Development Program

What is an 8(a) Business Development Program?

The 8(a) Business Development Program, often shortened to just 8(a), is the Small Business Administration’s certification program that verifies socially and economically disadvantaged people or entities and subsequently provides benefits to those businesses that qualify, such as increased access to government set-aside contracts, as well as education and training. The current federal contracting goal is to award about 10% of all federal contracting dollars to small disadvantaged businesses each year.