FORT LAUDERDALE — The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has launched a nationwide effort to grow LGBT businesses, including here in South Florida.
Locally, the LGBT Business Builder Initiative is being rolled out in cooperation with the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
The intent is to bring these businesses into the fold so that they can tap SBA development programs and access private, public and international contract opportunities like other U.S. minority companies currently do.
SBA reports that approximately 1.4 million businesses in the U.S. now identify as LGBT.
To be SBA-certified as a LGBT business, an enterprise must be 51 percent LGBT-owned by a U.S. citizen. It also has to be in good standing with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The certification process can take between one to four months.
Many large U.S. corporations such as American Airlines and Northrop Grumman seek out underrepresented businesses in order to fulfill the requirements of their internal supplier diversity programs. The SBA certification process helps LGBT businesses become better candidates for these contracts.
The role of each chamber at the national and local levels is to connect the SBA with businesses around the country and here in South Florida.
Emon Reiser from the South Florida Business Journal contributed to this report.
