Change to boost women contracting

More area businesses may be contracting with Cannon Air Force Base after a federal program has made a change expected to lead to significantly more federal contract dollars each year for women-owned businesses.

The Small Business Administration has expanded the number of industries that will be allowed in the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program.

The decision went into effect March 31, with the SBA indicating that the change could lead to hundreds of millions of dollars more each year in set-aside contracts for women-owned businesses, or portions of federal contracting funds that are reserved for businesses owned

The number of North American Industries Classification System (NAICS) categories allowed for set-asides has increased 70%, from 444 to 759. The expanded codes now cover 92% of major federal contract spending. Previously the codes covered 75%, according to the SBA.

“We definitely use those codes,” said Rhonda Gilliam-Smith, regional manager of the Roswell area for WESST and its Women’s Business Center, an SBA-supported program.

WESST, formerly called the Women’s Economic Self-Sufficiency Team, is a statewide network of small business support centers that emphasizes helping women and minorities obtain training, funding and professional guidance.

The head of the SBA said the change was instituted after a recent study found gaps between the type of industries women-owned businesses operate in and the NAICS categories covered by federal contracting rules. She also said the expansion should allow for greater economic gains by women business owners.

The list of eligible NAICS codes for the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program can be found on the SBA website, sba.gov.