The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced the launch of a new Historically Underutilized Business Zones map (via Google Chrome). The new map is located at www.sba.gov/hubzone-maps. The HUBZone map is the first step in the modernization effort of SBA’s federal contracting programs. SBA has partnered with the U.S. Digital Service to streamline and enhance online services for small businesses.
The new HUBZone map helps small businesses in urban and rural communities determine if they are eligible for participation in the SBA’s HUBZone program. It features the latest HUBZone designations, “Qualified Disaster Areas,” and new features to improve usability and assist with HUBZone address assertions.
“We are excited about our partnership with the White House’s U.S. Digital Service and the improvements made to the HUBZone maps to modernize SBA’s contracting programs — making them more user-friendly, agile and nimble for the busy entrepreneurs that we support,” SBA Administrator Linda McMahon said. “This is one of many projects that we have worked on with the USDS team to leverage technology to support America’s small businesses.”
In March 2016, the SBA launched certify.SBA.gov – a modernized, web-based application to further streamline and improve the application and certification processes for small businesses and entrepreneurs seeking to do business with the federal government. Certify.SBA.gov currently facilitates complete application and certification workflow for the Women Owned Small Business Program, including access to third party certification for women-owned small businesses. To help firms assess their eligibility for SBA contracting programs, Certify’ s “Am I Eligible?” tool helps small businesses determine if the certification programs are a good fit for their businesses through a series of questions. The site will eventually serve additional SBA certification programs, including the 8(a) Business Development Program and the HUBZone Program.
For more details about the HUBZone map please visit www.sba.gov/hubzone or contact your GTPAC counselor.
