The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority Board has approved important updates to the Airport’s business opportunity programs, with a stronger focus on helping small businesses participate in airport contracting and concession opportunities.

The Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Program will help qualified small businesses to compete for construction-related work tied to the Airport’s capital improvement program and the Authority’s purchase of other goods and services. At the same time, the Small Business Enterprise Concessionaire (SBEC) Program will create opportunities for qualified small businesses to participate in the Airport’s Concessions program and compete for upcoming opportunities to operate shops and restaurants at TPA.

The SBEC certification is especially timely as the Airport prepares for its upcoming Concessions RFP as part of the Concession Redevelopment Program.

The updates, adopted at the August HCAA Board Meeting, apply to the Authority’s non-federal Small Business Enterprise (SBE) and federal Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) programs.

A major milestone in this effort is the launch of in-house certification for the SBE and SBEC programs. Certification determines whether a business is eligible to participate, while the program itself creates a path to real Airport opportunities.

This change also establishes one small business certification standard across the Authority’s federal and non-federal programs.

Under the updated approach, SBE and SBEC certifications will use the same federal SBA business size standards based on NAICS codes, along with the same owner personal net worth limit of $2.047 million used in the DBE and ACDBE programs.

Businesses that are recertified as DBEs or ACDBEs by Florida Unified Certification Program certifying agencies will automatically qualify for SBE or SBEC certification.

For more information about the programs and how to become certified, visit HCAA’s Policies and Programs page on the TPA website or contact BusinessOpportunity@TampaAirport.com.