Check the WOSB Joint Venture for Causing Change
Joint ventures operating under the SBA’s All Small Mentor-Protege Program may need to regulate their venture agreements thanks to a little-noticed change to SBA’s venture rules. In its recent final rule, effective November 16, SBA amended two of the mandatory requirements for mentor-protege wosb joint venture pursuing small business set-aside contracts. SBA didn't make corresponding changes to the venture rules for SBA’s four major socioeconomic programs–meaning that a venture agreement that complies with the small business set-aside rules won't be valid if the venture pursues 8(a), SDVOSB/VOSB, HUBZone or WOSB/EDWOSB contracts (and vice versa). Under the All Small Mentor-Protege Program, a mentor and protege can form joint ventures to pursue any opportunity that the protege qualifies, by size and socioeconomic status. If the venture wishes to pursue a little business set-aside contract, and thus the mentor could also be an outsized business for purposes of that contrac