The SBA Mentor-Protégé Program: how it works and how to use it

SBA's Mentor-Protégé Program pairs a small business (the protégé) with a more experienced company (the mentor) that agrees to help it grow. Since 2020 there has been a single SBA program for all small businesses, governed by 13 CFR 125.9; it replaced the separate 8(a) and "All Small" mentor-protégé programs. The headline benefit is competitive: an approved mentor and protégé can form a joint venture that qualifies as small for any contract for which the protégé qualifies as small. Used well, the program gives a protégé capability and past performance, and gives a mentor access to set-aside work it could not win alone.

Who can participate#

Relationships run under a written mentor-protégé agreement that SBA must approve before any benefit applies, and agreements have a maximum term. Read 13 CFR 125.9 for the current limits on terms and on the number of relationships before you plan a long pursuit pipeline around one agreement.

What the protégé can receive#

The agreement describes the assistance, which SBA expects to be substantive and tied to the protégé's needs. Typical categories include:

• Management and technical help: accounting systems, quality and security programs, proposal development, engineering and program management practices
• Financial help: loans, and equity investment within the limits SBA allows
• Contracting help: subcontracts, joint venture opportunities and introductions to customers
• Trade education and general business development: market research, pricing, compliance programs

Assistance given under an approved agreement does not by itself make the mentor and protégé affiliated for size purposes (13 CFR 121.103). That protection is what lets the relationship work at all, so stay within the agreement.

The mentor-protégé joint venture#

The joint venture is where most of the value lies, and SBA attaches conditions to it:

• It is small when the protégé is. A joint venture between a protégé and its mentor qualifies as small for any federal contract or subcontract for which the protégé individually qualifies as small (13 CFR 125.9).
• Program set-asides need the program status. For an 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB or WOSB award, the protégé must hold the required status and the joint venture must meet that program's joint venture rules.
• The protégé leads. The joint venture agreement must name the protégé as managing venturer, with one of its employees as project manager (13 CFR 125.8).
• The protégé works. The protégé must perform at least 40% of the work the joint venture performs, and that work must be more than administrative or ministerial (13 CFR 125.8).

See teaming agreements versus joint ventures for how a joint venture compares with a prime-subcontractor team, and Limitations on Subcontracting for how joint venture work counts on set-asides.

Applying and staying in good standing#

1. Find the right counterpart. The best mentors work in the protégé's target market and hold the past performance and systems the protégé lacks.
2. Write a business development plan with specific, measurable assistance and milestones. Vague promises are a common reason for problems later.
3. Apply through SBA's certification portal with the agreement and supporting information. SBA reviews the application before approving the relationship.
4. Report every year. SBA reviews the relationship annually, and the protégé reports on the assistance received. SBA can end an agreement when the mentor does not deliver the promised help.

Making the relationship deliver#

Common pitfalls#

• A mentor that dominates the joint venture. If the mentor performs the core work and the protégé only manages paperwork, the joint venture fails SBA's requirements and size protests follow.
• Assistance only on paper. SBA reviews whether help was actually delivered.
• Assuming the joint venture fixes status gaps. On an 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB or WOSB set-aside, the protégé still needs the program status.
• Outgrowing the size standard unnoticed. The joint venture's eligibility depends on the protégé being small for each procurement.

How TeamingIndex helps#

• Protégés can look for mentors with the vehicles and past performance they need, for example OASIS+ prime contract holders, or companies open to prime and joint venture roles.
• Mentors can find protégés by status and size, for example 8(a) participants small under NAICS 541512.
• In the Team Builder, record joint venture partners with the joint venture role so their workshare counts as the joint venture's own in the Limitations on Subcontracting check.