SBA Mentor-Protege Program
Also called: mentor-protege, MPP, SBA mentor protege, all small mentor-protege, 8(a) mentor protege
The SBA Mentor-Protege Program pairs a small business protege with a larger, experienced mentor that provides business development help, and lets the pair form a joint venture that qualifies as small for set-aside contracts without affiliation.
The program is 13 CFR 125.9, which since 2020 covers all small businesses after the separate 8(a) program was merged in. SBA approves the written mentor-protege agreement, which must describe the assistance (management, technical, financial, contracting, teaming), and reviews progress annually. A protege may have two mentors over time, a mentor may have up to three proteges, and the agreement runs for a term SBA sets with one renewal. The joint venture rules in 13 CFR 125.8 then apply.
What to check: that you have a real business reason and a specific mentor in mind before applying (SBA expects both), the protege's size under its primary NAICS, the mentor's good standing, the assistance plan in measurable terms, and the limitations on subcontracting that the JV, not the mentor, must meet. Many agencies and DoD run their own mentor-protege programs with different rules, so say which one you mean.
What it is not: a shortcut for a large firm to capture set-asides. SBA terminates agreements where the mentor is the only one benefiting.
See also: Joint venture (JV), 8(a) Business Development Program, Teaming agreement, Limitations on subcontracting
Questions that use this term
Search allMy small 8(a) firm is looking into the SBA Mentor-Protege Program to help us grow. We read that it can help us form a joint venture with a larger...