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Certification Criteria

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  1. Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) must be a currently functioning for profit enterprise and physically located in the U. S. or its trust territories which:
    • is an independent business concern that is at least 51% independently owned, managed and controlled by one or more minority group members
    • demonstrates the capability to perform a line of business
    • provides a commercially useful business function according to customs and practices of the industry
  2. The controlling interest in a firm represented to be minority shall be by one or more CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. For the purposes of NMSDC’s program, a minority group member is an individual who is at least 25% Asian, Black, Hispanic or Native American.
    • Asian-Indian: A U.S. citizen whose origins are from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
    • Asian-Pacific: A U.S. citizen whose origins are from Japan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Trust Territories of the Pacific or the Northern Marianas.
    • Black: A U.S. citizen who is of African descent (excluding Northern Africa).
    • Hispanic: A U.S. citizen of true-born Hispanic heritage, from any of the Spanish-speaking areas of the following regions: Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean Basin only. Brazilians (Afro-Brazilian, indigenous/Indian only) shall be listed under Hispanic designation for review and certification purposes.
    • Native American: A person who is an American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut or Native Hawaiian, and regarded as such by the community of which the person claims to be a part. Native Americans must be documented members of a North American tribe, band or otherwise organized group of native people who are indigenous to the continental United States and proof can be provided through a Native American Blood Degree Certificate (i.e., tribal registry letter, tribal roll register number).
  3. The minority ownership and control shall be real and continuing and not created solely to take advantage of special programs aimed at minority supplier development.
  4. The minority owner(s) shall enjoy the customary incidents of ownership and shall share in the risks and profits and shall have contributed capital, equipment and/or expertise to the business commensurate with his/her percentage of ownership.
  5. The contributions of capital or expertise by the minority owner(s) to acquire their interests in the firms shall be real and sustainable.
  6. To be considered operational, applicant must be able to produce supporting documents to show the company is operational and not a hobby. (i.e. business receipts.)
  7. The minority owner(s) shall possess the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of the firm and shall possess the capability of making day-to-day as well as major decisions on matters of management, policy and operations of the firm. There shall be no restriction on the minority owner’s ability to control which would prevent the minority owner from making a business decision without the cooperation or vote of a non-minority person. Such control shall be known or at least tacitly acknowledged in day-to-day operations by employees and business references of the business. Where licenses are required to perform the functional mission of the company, such licenses shall be held in the name and/or independent control of minorities.
  8. All securities which constitute ownership of a corporation for purposes of establishing it as a minority business enterprise shall be held directly by the minority owner(s). No securities held in trust or by any guardian for a minority shall be considered held by minority persons in determining ownership and control of the corporation.
  9. Applicant must supply the Council with a copy of the documents (via Prism upload) requested on the Certification Application Checklist that apply to the type of business enterprise in which the Applicant is engaged. Incomplete applications cannot and will not be processed. The Council reserves the right to request further information from the Applicant prior to or during the certification process. All materials submitted shall be retained by the Houston Minority Supplier Development Council. The applicant further agrees to allow HMSDC representatives access to inspect the applicant’s place of business.
  10. All funds are non-refundable. You have a maximum of 90 days to submit your documentation from the date of payment. If you do not submit the required documents, HMSDC reserves the right to administratively withdraw your file from the process.