Today, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses announced the Cyber Prize Competition to award $350,000 to one organization to lead the development and deployment of a national Cyber Certification Program for SBA resource partners.

The award will support the SBA’s work to establish a cyber counseling certification program to prepare employees of SBA resource partners to provide cyber planning assistance to small businesses. Resource partners include Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), SCORE, Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs), and other entities that provide direct client services to startups and existing small businesses.

The prize winner will ensure cyber curriculum development, course delivery, assessment and certification, and overall program management of a Cyber Certification Program. Interested parties may submit their applications until the deadline, Aug. 15, 2024, 5 p.m. ET. For more information on how to apply, visit Challenge.gov.

Rules:

  • The competition is not open to individuals or for-profit entities. 
  • Eligible entities must be organized or incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States and must be an institution of higher education, nonprofit organization, chamber of commerce, or any entity that has a current cooperative agreement or grant with SBA such as but not limited to: SBDCs, WBCs, SCORE, VBOCs, and Cyber Pilot Program Grantees.
  • SBA employees and contractors are not eligible, nor are Federal entities or Federal employees acting within the scope of their employment. Organizations that are currently suspended or debarred by the federal government are not eligible for this Competition. 
  • The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) reserves the right to cancel, suspend, and/or modify the Challenge, or any part of it, for any reason, at the SBA's sole discretion. 

The Small Business Cyber Training Act of 2022 amended §21 of the Small Business Act to establish a cyber training program, including a certification program for Small Business Development Center (SBDC) employees (15 U.S.C. §648 (o)).

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About the U.S. Small Business Administration The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.

Christine Saah Nazer
U.S. Small Business Administration
202-765-0304
Christine.SaahNazer@sba.gov