OFFICE OF MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE

 

The Office of Minority Business Enterprise (OMBE) administers a certification program to identify small, minority-owned and women-owned businesses capable of providing goods and/or services to both government and private sectors.  Certification provides minority/women-owned businesses with a stamp of approval affirming that they are a credible business entity.  Certification is valid for two years.

 

The OMBE encourages minority and women-owned businesses to register with the Alabama Department of Finance-Division of Purchasing in order to receive bid solicitations.  Visit their website for requirements on becoming a state vendor and include a copy of your approved vendor registration along with your OMBE certification application.  However, the OMBE does not require a business to become a state vendor as a condition for certification as a minority or woman-owned business.

 

The OMBE works closely with the Department of Industrial Relations Office of Small Business Advocacy to promote small business development and advocate on their behalf.  Other agencies and programs that provide valuable information and technical assistance to business enterprises in such areas as financing, procurement, start-up and expansion, and accounting, to name a few, are the Alabama Small Business Development Center Network (ASBDC), the Alabama Small Business Administration (ASBA), Alabama Procurement Technical Assistance Center Program and others.

 

A minority business is a socially and/or economically disadvantaged commercial entity that has one or more minority or female owners with a controlling interest in the business enterprise.

 

OMBE Eligibility Requirements

In order to be eligible for minority or woman-owned certification, an applicant business must meet certain requirements that include, but are not limited to the following:

 

A business must be at least 51 percent minority/woman-owned, controlled and operated on a daily basis;

 

Must have been in operation for at least one year prior to applying for minority business certification status;

 

Must have a legal presence (license) to operate in Alabama;

 

Majority owner(s) must be a legal resident of the United States by birth or naturalization;

 

Must be socially disadvantaged defined as those individuals who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice, sexual or cultural bias because of their identity as a member of a group without regard to their individual qualities.

 

Must be economically disadvantaged defined as those individuals whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system has been impaired due to diminished capital and credit opportunities;

 

Must be a member(s) of an officially designated socially disadvantaged group such as African-American, Native American or Alaskan Native, Hispanic-American, Women, Asian-Pacific American, and Asian-Indian American.

 

Benefits of Certification

As a certified minority or woman-owned business enterprise a company will:

 

          ● Receive notification of state business opportunities

          ● Receive access to training opportunities

          ● Receive notice of upcoming events such as networking
             opportunities

● Appear in a listing of certified businesses for possible

   contracting/sub-contracting opportunities

          ● A simplified re-certification process

 

Certification confirms that a minority or female owns 51 percent or more of the business;

 

That a business is owned by citizens or permanent resident aliens who are persons having origins in any of the Black African racial groups;

 

Hispanic persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Central or South American descent or either Indian or Hispanic origin, regardless of race;

 

Asian and Pacific Islander persons having origins in any of the Far East countries, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent or the Pacific Islands; or

 

Native American or Alaskan Native persons.

 

 

Other State Certifications

DBE Certification (Alabama Department of Transportation)

 

Contact:  Clarence Mann, Manager

              Office of Minority Business Enterprise

              401 Adams Avenue, Suite 410

              Montgomery, AL  36103

              (334) 353-5680

              (334) 242-4203  Fax

              Email: Clarence.Mann@adeca.alabama.gov