The Complete Guide to Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Certification

The positive impact of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) on any business is profound! Let’s peruse a few facts that validate this statement.

A recent survey titled - Business Leader’s Opinions on Diversity Initiatives, was conducted between November 28, 2023 - December 4, 2023, among 325 Business Leaders. 82% of this board of leaders envision diversity initiatives as crucial for their business strategy and expect it to become more important in the coming years. 45% of senior executives recognize enhanced business performance as a key benefit of diversity, followed by talent acquisition/retention (43%), and fostering innovation/creativity (38%).

Business Diversity & Inclusion = Success

It is clear from these facts that the correspondence between business diversity and success is made to last. In fact, the benefits of DEI at the workplace are multiple including a bigger talent pool, enhanced employee engagement and trust, new perspectives, newfound innovations, sound decision-making, improved performance, and most importantly, business results and profits par excellence.

50+ Years of Legacy of NMSDC

With DEI at the crux of its principles, The National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) is all about correcting the unequal access to wealth-building opportunities for the broadest group of systematically excluded communities of color (Asian-Indian, Asian-Pacific, Black, Hispanic, and Native American). The very mission of this 52-year-old organization is to serve as a growth engine for NMSDC certified minority businesses and enable its members to advance economic equity.

NMSDC offers Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Certification to minority-owned businesses, which will provide them with access to enormous Government budgets and nationally recognized corporations required to purchase from other such businesses.

Here is a complete guide to attaining a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) certification that encompasses all the details you would need!

What is an MBE Certification?

Among the diverse types of NMSDC Certifications, the Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Certification stands out as the gold standard for minority-owned, for-profit businesses. But what exactly is a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE)? As per NMSDC, an MBE is a for-profit business that is at least 51% owned, managed, and controlled by a member(s) of a qualified minority group. A qualified minority group member is an individual who is a U.S. citizen who is at least 25% of the following:

• Black/African American
• Asian-Indian
• Asian-Pacific
• Hispanic/Latin American
• Native American

Minority eligibility is based on a set of document reviews, screenings, interviews, and site visits. Ownership, in the case of a publicly owned business, means that at least 51% of the stock is owned by one or more qualified minority group members.

Requirements to attain an MBE Certification

To attain an MBE Certification, an applicant must adhere to the following requirements while ensuring an application, documentation, and site visit are in place.

• Minorities must own and control at least 51% of the business.
• Minority owner(s) must serve as the President or CEO (if both positions exist).
• Minority owner(s) must be active in daily management.
• Minority owner(s) must be a U.S. citizen.

9 Simple Steps: How to attain an MBE Certification?

1. Review the MBE certification criteria and gather the necessary information and documentation to complete the application.
2. Click the link on this page and answer a few pre-qualification questions about your business to verify if it meets the MBE certification guidelines.
3. If your business is pre-qualified, you will be provided with access to the MBE certification application system, where you can preview and print the certification questions and documentation requirements.
4. Complete the online application and upload the required documentation. You can save each section as you go and complete the application at your convenient time.
5. Pay the application fee (non-refundable) online via credit card once the application is complete.
6. Post the completion of the application process, the certification team will audit the application for accuracy and completeness and contact you if there are any questions or if additional details are needed.
7. The team will also contact the customer references that you have provided and conduct either a virtual interview, physical site visit, or both.
8. You can view the status of your application and will be contacted with the result once the evaluation is completed.
9. Throughout the process, you can contact the certification team via message in the system regarding any queries or doubts.

6 Main Benefits of MBE Certification

1. Access to 17,000+ Other MBEs: MBEs can engage in business opportunities with their peers and also form partnerships, strategic alliances, and joint ventures.
2. Conferences & Exchanges: MBEs can showcase their portfolio to hundreds of prospective buyers, government agencies, and procurement professionals across the largest U.S. conferences.
3. Capacity Building: MBEs can avail multiple capital access opportunities throughout their business lifecycle through NMSDC’s partnership with the Business Consortium Fund, the Growth Initiative Certification, and Capital Managers Program.
4. Contract Opportunities: MBEs can forge business connections with buying agencies, which enables partnering and business opportunities in the future.
5. Customized Education & Development: MBEs can leverage a wide range of programs and other concentrated training and technical assistance while the CEOs can leverage a range of leadership tools.
6. Networking Opportunities: MBEs can expand their network and business relationships through various networking opportunities.

Services offered by MBE Certification

• Standard Services: MBEs can avail standard services (provided by 23 NMSDC regional affiliates) including Certification Process, Pre-& Post-Certification Briefing, and others, without additional charges.
• Enhanced Services: A regional affiliate may offer certain enhanced services including Industry Groups & Committees, RFPs/Business leads/Alerts for procurement opportunities from corporate members, and others, based on the availability to certified MBEs for no additional cost.
• Subscription Services: MBEs who prefer to execute business in a service area other than the certifying regional affiliate geographic area can elect a suite of subscription services including access to top corporate purchasing agents, premium business connection outings and networking events, and others.

Cloud Destinations, Inc attains the Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Certification from NMSDC

Cloud Destinations, Inc takes utmost pride in being certified as a Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) and added to NMSDC CENTRAL®, the MBE database. Thanks to its unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion since its establishment in 2016, all its employees relish going the extra mile! Here are a few DEI principles which Cloud Destinations abides by:

• Embracing Diversity: We strive to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels respected and valued regardless of their background, experiences, or physical abilities.
• Thrive with our ERGs: We encourage employees to create Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) based on their identities or interests, to connect, share experiences, and support each other.
• Learn more from our DEI Training: We offer ongoing training and education through workshops, webinars, and other learning opportunities on DEI topics to all our employees.
• Commitment to Anti-Discrimination Policies: We firmly believe that everyone deserves equal opportunities, regardless of their background, in accordance with anti-discrimination policies and practices in place.

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