The purpose of Chatham County Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Program is to help small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, including minorities and women, participate in all aspects of projects and contracts administered by the City's Procurement Department. Chatham County prohibits discrimination against a person or business in pursuit of these opportunities on the basis of race, color, sex, religion or national origin.

The following standards shall be used to determine whether a business is owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individual, and therefore, is eligible to be certified as an M/WBE:

• A "Minority or Women-Owned Business Enterprise" is one that is at least fifty-one (51%) percent owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. A "Socially Disadvantaged individual" is one who has been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias within American society because of his/her identification as a member of a group and without regard to individual qualities. A socially disadvantaged individual must be a citizen (or lawfully admitted permanent resident) of the United States who is either a Black American, Hispanic American, Native American, Asian-Pacific American, Subcontinent Asian American, or woman.
• To be certified with Chatham County as a M/WBE, one must operate in Chatham County for at least 12 months prior to submitting an application for certification. "To operate" means to be the current holder of a valid business license issued by a local government within the MSA prior to submitting an application for certification.
• If your firm is currently certified by US DOT as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE), or by the Small Business Administration (SBA) as an B(a) firm, or by the City of Savannah, the Chatham County Board of Education may accept your certification provided adequate documentation is provided.