What is WOSB?
The Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program is a Small Business Administration certification that lets contracting officers reserve procurements for firms owned and controlled by women. A certified firm can compete for opportunities set aside for women-owned small businesses and, in defined circumstances, receive sole-source awards.
The government sets an annual goal of awarding 5 percent of its prime contract dollars to women-owned small businesses. Agencies report progress toward that goal, and primes with subcontracting plans track it too, which is why the status gets asked about in teaming conversations as well as on solicitations.
The requirements
A firm must meet all of these to be certified, and keep meeting them:
- It is a small business under the size standard for its primary NAICS code.
- It is at least 51 percent unconditionally and directly owned by one or more women who are US citizens.
- Women control it. Women manage the day-to-day operations and make the long-term decisions, and a qualifying woman holds the highest officer position.
- It is certified, by the Small Business Administration or an approved third-party certifier, and keeps its registration representations consistent with that certification.
WOSB and EDWOSB
The program has two tiers. The economically disadvantaged tier, EDWOSB, adds personal financial limits on the qualifying owners. The distinction matters because the eligible industries are split the same way. In some industries women-owned firms are underrepresented, and a set-aside there is open to any certified WOSB. In others they are substantially underrepresented, and the set-aside is open only to EDWOSBs.
Unlike some other programs, the set-aside is not available for every procurement. It applies only in the industries the Small Business Administration has identified, by NAICS code, as underrepresented. A firm whose primary work falls outside that list holds a genuine certification that its target contracts cannot use.
Why software companies trip on it
Ownership is rarely the problem for a software company. Control is.
Venture-backed companies often carry investor protections, such as vetoes over budgets, hiring or new financing, that are ordinary in a term sheet and inconsistent with women controlling the business. A founder can own the majority of the shares and still fail the control test because of rights granted to a minority investor.
The other common problem is change. A new financing round, a new chief executive or a restructured board can move ownership or control below the line. The certification describes the company as it is now, and a company that has changed since it was certified is carrying a status it may no longer hold.
What the status is worth
- Set-asides remove every non-qualifying competitor from a procurement.
- Sole-source awards let a contracting officer award directly to a certified firm in defined circumstances, usually below dollar thresholds and where only one qualified firm is expected.
- Subcontracting value comes from primes that need women-owned partners to meet the goals in their subcontracting plans.
There is no price evaluation preference in full and open competition. That advantage belongs to HUBZone firms.
How it compares to the other certifications
WOSB sits alongside the 8(a) program, HUBZone and SDVOSB certification. WOSB, 8(a) and SDVOSB turn on who owns and controls the company. HUBZone turns on where the company works and where its people live. A firm can hold more than one status at once, and each is verified separately.
Practical sequence
- Check the eligible NAICS list against the codes your target contracts use, before anything else.
- Read your governing documents for control. Investor rights, board composition and officer titles decide this, not the cap table alone.
- Apply for certification and keep the certification and your registration in step.
- Re-check after every financing round or leadership change, not only at renewal.
Like the other statuses in this category, WOSB is valuable because it is verified. A contracting officer can confirm it against a government record, and so can anyone evaluating the company from the outside.