Set-Asides & Socioeconomic Programs

SBA Mentor-Protégé Program

An SBA program letting an experienced mentor assist a small protégé and form an affiliation-exempt joint venture.

The SBA All Small Mentor-Protégé Program allows an established business (the mentor) to provide a small business (the protégé) with technical, management, and financial assistance, including equity investment up to 40%. The signature benefit is that an approved mentor-protégé pair may form a joint venture that is exempt from affiliation, so the JV can compete for small business and SDVOSB set-asides for which the protégé qualifies, even with a large mentor. Agreements run up to six years and a firm may have up to two mentors over time.

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What is a federal mentor-protégé program?
What is an approved mentor-protégé joint venture?

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