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About State of Ohio Business Certifications

STATE OF OHIO BUSINESS CERTIFICATIONS

Minority Business Enterprise (MBE):
The State of Ohio’s Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Program is designed to assist minority businesses in obtaining state government contracts through a set aside procurement program for goods and services.

Encouraging Diversity Growth & Equity (EDGE):
The State of Ohio recognizes the need to encourage, nurture and support the growth of economically and socially underutilized businesses to foster their development. The EDGE Program provides an “EDGE” to small businesses by Encouraging Diversity Growth and Equity in public contracting. EDGE is an assistance program for economically and socially disadvantaged business enterprises.

Veteran-Friendly Business Enterprise (VFBE):
The State of Ohio’s Veteran-Friendly Business Enterprise (VFBE) Procurement program provides preference or bonus points to certified companies that compete to contract with the state to supply the goods or services it needs, including eligible construction services.  In order to be eligible for certification, the applicant business must satisfy one of the following criteria:

  • At least 10% of its employees are veterans or on active service;
  • At least 51% of the applicant business is owned by veterans or persons on active service;
  • If the applicant business is a corporation, 51% of which is not owned by veterans or persons on active service, at least 51% of the board of directors are veterans or persons on active service; or
  • The business is certified by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business or a Veteran-Owned Small Business.

Women Business Enterprise (WBE):
The State of Ohio’s Women Business Enterprise (WBE) program is designed to assist women-owned businesses in obtaining contracts for goods and services, construction, architecture, engineering, information technology, and professional services. The WBE program does not apply a procurement goal or set-aside target for state government contracts. The State of Ohio developed the program because it recognized the need to encourage, nurture and support the growth of women businesses to foster their development and increase the number of qualified competitors in the marketplace.

Ready to Apply for Certification?

If so, follow these steps… If not, call us or fill out the form on the right:

The applicant must complete a Unified Application through the Ohio Business Gateway and provide supporting documentation as required. Only complete applications, including all required supporting documentation, will be reviewed. Applications are subject to on-site review by state compliance officers. Upon application approval, the company receives its certification by email.

The processing time for completed applications may vary. However, we offer assistance to expedite the process through our “fast track” system. While the exact timeframe may differ, this system aims to significantly reduce application processing time. To qualify for “fast track” processing, applicants must submit their application through one of the regional Minority Business Assistance Centers, such as ours, and the applicant must have a pending contract award that requires certification or be a candidate for and in need of financing or bonding where certification is a requirement.

For a tutorial of how to access the application, please review this video.

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