The SBA Mentor-Protege Program offers several benefits for a large mentor firm, primarily by facilitating the formation of joint ventures that can pursue set-aside contracts. A large prime contractor can enter into a joint venture with its protege, and that joint venture can then bid on specific small business set-asides for which the protege qualifies. This includes set-asides for the 8(a) Business Development Program, HUBZone, WOSB, and SDVOSB programs. The joint venture itself is considered a small business for any federal contract award, as long as the protege is small for the NAICS code assigned to the procurement.
This structure allows the mentor to gain access to contracts it might not otherwise be eligible to pursue directly, while also helping the mentor meet its small business subcontracting goals. My firm has used this to team with larger companies on specific projects. The program also allows the mentor to fulfill its small business development objectives, which can be a factor in its overall past performance evaluations.