Companies with a minority owned business certification must be owned and controlled by minorities. The certifications that identify these kinds of businesses include MBE, DBE and SDB.
Obtaining these certifications is a fairly complex process. The owners must provide proof to the certifying governmental agency concerning the minority(s) involved.
Certifications are provided by city, regional, state or local governments. For businesses in Houston Texas (for example), the City of Houston provides certification once the owners have completed the necessary paperwork.
You can be confident that businesses displaying an SDB in Texas have been certified. In some states, only a majority of the stockholders must be minorities in order to receive the certification.
Dealing with this kind of company is good for the community and for minorities in general. The company may be owned by women, African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic or other minorities.
These individuals are often at a disadvantage in the corporate world. For many years, it was difficult for them to get loans, investors or funding. There were barriers to growth, including lack of education and limited access to professional training.
The minority owned business certification was created to help break down the barriers. In an analysis conducted by the Urban Institute, it was found that minority-owned businesses received only about half the dollars earned by similar-sized non-minority businesses. Read the rest of this entry



