Has The Small Business Administrations Minority Business Development Program Been Successful?

Minorities are less likely to own a firm than their non-minority counterparts and many continue to form businesses with little growth potential. The Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Section 8(a) Minority Business Development Program is responsible for assisting small minority owned businesses in making a successful transition into the competitive marketplace. Using congressional reports, surveys, and independent reports, this study attempted to answer the question, Has the 8(a) program been serving its purpose? Is it working? To answer this question several problem areas were discussed. These centered in two areas, problems within the SBA and problems encountered in the 8(a) program as viewed from 8(a) program graduates. Viewing problems from both areas aided in reaching a conclusion. The 8(a) program does work. It is serving its purpose by aiding hundreds of small minority owned businesses transition to the private-sector marketplace