The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it is accepting nominations for the 2018 National Small Business Week Awards through January 9th, which is open to those residing anywhere in the United States and its territories. Awards in the program range from state to regional level and cover categories such as exporting, federal procurement, investment, among others. .
The SBA described the power of the nation’s small businesses and the purpose of the awards, saying that, “Every day, (we’re) working to grow small businesses, create 21st century jobs, drive innovation, and increase America’s global competitiveness. And in recognizing the changing face of America, the SBA’s National Small Business Week awards honor individuals and businesses that reflect our nation’s rich diversity.”
Although the awards cover the whole United States and its territories, local SBA groups offer additional award categories for local businesses. For instance the New York SBA is open to nominations for Micro Business of the Year, SCORE Chapter of the Year, Women’s Business Center of Excellence, and others. All nominations, local and national, are still due by January 9th.
Individuals and teams cannot be nominated for more than one category, and all must be legal residents of the United States or one of its territories, and operating a small business for at least three years. Additionally, all applicants must have received one type of SBA assistance in the past such as: any SBA loan product (7(a), 504 or Microloan), participated in the SBA 8(a) Certification Program, received SBA business counseling from either Small Business Development Centers, SCORE or the Women Business Centers, or be a recipient of SBIR Grants or SBIC funding. They also cannot be entered into an award category that they have previously won in the past three years.
