Acronyms, Terminology, and Organizations

Prepared by the staff of Minority Business Entrepreneur magazine (www.mbemag.com), this is a brief synopsis of the history of business/supplier development programs. Also included are some of the terms and acronyms frequently used when discussing such programs.

National Perspective: Minority and women business owners are often regarded as less competent and less reliable in spite of facts and statistics to the contrary. Equal access to business opportunity is frequently denied. In some industries, minorities who do compete and win contracts are often assumed to be shams or pass-throughs for majority-owned contractors; white women are often regarded as fronts for brothers or spouses, especially if non-minority male family members are employed in the company.

Historical Background: Socially disadvantaged individuals have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or bias because of their identity as members of a group without regard to their individual qualities. Economically disadvantaged individuals are those socially disadvantaged individuals whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system has been impaired due to diminished access to capital and credit. Public Law 95-507 and subsequent legislation aim to remedy the effects of past discrimination.

Definitions of Terms:

MBE - Minority Business Enterprise - As defined by the Small Business Administration, includes male and female business owners who are African American, Hispanic, Native American, Native Alaskan, Asian Pacific, Subcontinent Asian Americans (East Indian) and members of other groups designated from time to time by the SBA, and who are U.S. citizens. Minority business status requires 51% or greater ownership by minorities as well as management and control of daily business operations, with experience or technical expertise directly related to the primary product or service of the business.

WBE - Women's Business Enterprise - non-minority women who own 51% or more of the business as well as manage and control daily business operations, and have technical expertise directly related to the primary product or service of the business. The SBA has not formally adopted a WBE definition.

WWBE - an unofficial term occasionally used to differentiate between minority women and white women business enterprises (WWBE). Minority women are most often designated as MBEs (or SDBs or DBEs).

SDB - Small Disadvantaged Business - Small refers to size as determined by gross dollar revenue (variable according to SIC Code) and number of employees (fewer than 500). Disadvantaged refers to minority status and usually does not include white women.

HUB - Historically Underutilized Businesses coined in 1990 by the President's Commission on Minority Business Development as a more accurate, less negative term than disadvantaged.

DBE - Disadvantaged Business Enterprise - Usually refers to minority ownership, sometimes includes disabled and residents of economically depressed areas; depending on governing legislation, may or may not include white women. Five federal agencies do include non-minority women as part of their DBE definition: Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, NASA, RTC (Resolution Trust Corporation) and USAID (Agency for International Development .
DVBE or SDV - Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise or Service Disabled Veteran - State of California contracts include goals for disabled veteran-owned businesses. Proposition 209 (a California voter’s initiative) eliminated goals on State of California contracts for minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses. Likewise, some other state and municipal minority/women’s business development programs have been curtailed, eliminated or revised.

Certifying Organizations

NMSDC - certifies minority-owned businesses (male and female) through its regional purchasing councils

WBENC -Women’s Business Enterprise National Council - certifies woman-owned businesses (all ethnicities) through its regional

Associations

ABA - Asian Business Association – a listing of Asian and Asian American organizations can be found at: www.awib.org

AMENY - Association of Minority Enterprises of New York www.ameny.org

BBA - Black Business Association www.bbala.org

CAABO – Coalition of Asian American Business Organizations – an organization of Asian business owners who support the advancement of Asian businesses in the U.S. www.caabo.org

LBA - Latin Business Association www.lbausa.com

MBELDEF - Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Education Fund - organization which serves as a advocate and legal representative for the minority business community. www.mbeldef.org

NAMC - National Association of Minority Contractors - represents minority-owned construction firms. www.namcline.org

NAWBO - National Association of Women Business Owners www.nawbo.org

NCAIED – National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development www.ncaied.org

NMBC - National Minority Business Council - New York City organization of minority business owners primarily in the New York and New Jersey area. www.nmbc.org

NMSDC - National Minority Supplier Development Council - organization of major corporations for creating business opportunities for minority-owned businesses. www.nmsdcus.org

RPC - Regional Purchasing Council - part of the NMSDC network.

USHCC - U S Hispanic Chamber of Commerce www.ushcc.com

USPAACC – U S Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce - a national organization representing all Asian Americans and Asian American-related groups. www.uspaacc.com

WBENC – Women’s Business Enterprise National Council - organization of major corporations for creating business opportunities for woman-owned businesses. www.wbenc.org

WCOE - Women Construction Owners & Executives - represents women contractors in construction industry. www.wcoeusa.org

Government Assistance Agencies

MBDA - Minority Business Development Agency, U S Department of Commerce – www.mbda.gov

MBDC - Minority Business Development Center - regional centers providing business development

NWBC - National Women’s Business Council - a bipartisan federal advisory panel that makes policy recommendations to the President and Congress to further the development of woman-owned businesses. Created by Congress in 1988.

OSDBU - Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization - Oversees contracts and procurement from minority-owned firms; each federal agency has its own OSDBU, as do most state, county and municipal agencies.

SBA - Small Business Administration – www.sba.gov
8(a) Program - Federal business development program for minority-owned firms
7(j) Program - Management and technical assistance program for small businesses

SBDC - Small Business Development Center – regional centers providing counseling, managerial and technical assistance to existing and prospective small businesses.

The Semantics of Minority Business Enterprise

The word "minority" describes those individuals belonging to a racial minority group in the U.S. Those groups are defined by census data and designated by the government as: African American, Hispanic, Asian Pacific, Native American, Native Alaskan, and Sub-continent Asian American (East Indian).