MWBE Certification Program Transitions to SLDC
St. Louis Development Corporation to Begin Administering Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Certification Program for St. Louis Region on August 30, 2024, Pauses Acceptance of New Applications During Transition from St. Louis Lambert Airport
St. Louis, MO (June 20, 2024) – As of today, the administration of the St. Louis Region’s Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Certification Program will transfer to St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) from Business Diversity Development (BDD) at St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The transfer will be complete by August 30, 2024. BDD, which currently administers the MWBE Certification Program for St. Louis City and County, will stop taking new MWBE applications, MWBE No Change Affidavits and new MWBE Expansion applications from MWBE firms requesting additional North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes on Friday, June 21, 2024, but will continue to process MWBE applications it has received prior to that date. SLDC is also working in partnership with St. Louis County to support the certification of MWBEs in the entire St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) who are interested in doing business in the St. Louis Region.
The MWBE Program was established to encourage businesses owned by minority groups to participate in City contracting opportunities and on development projects incentivized by the City. SLDC oversees monitoring of MWBE utilization on such projects to ensure goals and objectives are achieved. SLDC works to promote business opportunities and capabilities of MWBEs and to eliminate barriers to equal economic opportunity for all businesses in the marketplace.
“Bringing the MWBE Certification Program in-house aligns with the Economic Empowerment objectives of the Economic Justice Action Plan and SLDC’s numerous investments in creating a healthy ecosystem that provides opportunities for small and diverse businesses to launch, grow and sustain their operations,” said Neal Richardson, President & CEO of SLDC. “We are grateful to the Business Diversity Department at Lambert International Airport for their support in maintaining the integrity of the MWBE certification process over the years.”
Although no new MWBE certification applications or MWBE NAICS code expansion applications will be taken between June 21 and August 30, 2024, in preparation for the new application, SLDC will be providing MWBE firms with training opportunities. SLDC staff will be available at the Northside Economic Empowerment Center (NEEC) to help businesses get prepared to apply for certification when the new application launches on August 30, 2024. Additionally, SLDC hosts a weekly “Digging Through the Weeds of Certification” training session every Tuesday and Thursday at 1 p.m. at the NEEC. All MWBE firms interested in learning more about certification are encouraged to attend.
MWBEs with questions or concerns about the Certification Program or those submitting MWBE No Change Renewals should email certification@stlouis-mo.gov, call 314.617.0360 or visit https://www.developstlouis.org/certify-stl for information on the program.
New DBE or ACDBE certification applications, DBE/ACDBE Expansions or DBE/ACDBE Interstate applications are not impacted by this transition.
St. Louis Lambert International Airport Business Diversity Development (BDD) Office administers the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) Programs in accordance with 49 CFR Part 26 and Part 23.
If you are seeking certification within the DBE and ACDBE Programs, please submit your application to BDD at https://flystl.diversitycompliance.com/.
If you are currently certified as a DBE and/or ACDBE, submit your annual No Change Affidavit and supporting documentation to BDD on or before your anniversary date at https://flystl.diversitycompliance.com/.
If you are performing work in additional NAICS codes related to your DBE or ACDBE certification, submit your DBE/ACDBE NAICS Expansion application to BDD for processing at https://flystl.diversitycompliance.com/.
If you have questions regarding federal certification, contact BDD at 314.426.8111.