SBA Mentor-Protégé Program
The SBA Mentor-Protégé Program lets a small business joint venture with a larger mentor and still bid small business set-asides. It is the fastest legitimate way to add past performance and bonding capacity you don't yet have on your own.
- Who it's for
- Small businesses partnering with experienced firms
- Primary benefit
- Joint venture eligibility for set-asides without affiliation penalties
- Term / renewal
- Up to six years per mentor relationship
- Certifying authority
- U.S. Small Business Administration
Key takeaways
- Certification opens doors — it does not win proposals on its own.
- Keep your SAM.gov registration, NAICS list, and capability narrative synchronized with the certification record.
- Target set-aside solicitations where the certification narrows the field to a handful of credible bidders.
- Pair the certification with same-scope past performance to convert eligibility into awards.
Eligibility requirements
The protégé must be a small business in its primary or secondary NAICS code. The mentor must be an organization with the capacity to help and cannot have more than a defined number of protégés at once. Both must document specific developmental assistance in the agreement.
How to apply
Draft a mentor-protégé agreement describing assistance in defined areas (technical, management, financial, contracting), submit it to SBA for approval, and once approved, form a compliant joint venture agreement for each pursuit that meets 13 CFR 125.8 content requirements.
How to use it competitively
Write the joint venture agreement to satisfy the workshare and management rules before you write the proposal — protests on JV compliance are common and fatal. Use the relationship deliberately: target contracts one tier above what you could win alone, and make sure the protégé performs the work that builds real qualifications.
FAQ
Can the mentor be a large business?
Yes. Mentors are commonly large firms, and the approved JV can still bid small business set-asides.
How is workshare split?
The protégé must perform at least 40% of the joint venture's work, with limitations on subcontracting applied to the JV as a whole.
Does SBA approval take long?
Application review typically runs one to three months depending on documentation quality.
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