Mentor-Protégé Program
The Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP) is a federal/DoD business development initiative designed to pair experienced Government Suppliers (Mentors) with smaller, less experienced businesses (Protégés).
The Mentor provides guidance, resources, and opportunities as the Protégé gains skills, experience, and work to contracts with the Mentor. This helps achieve the goal of the MPP initiative which is to strengthen the Small Business's ability to successfully compete for and perform on awards thus strengthening the supplier base.
Typical Mentor Benefits
- Reimbursements or Credits for certain costs of training and assisting Protégés
- Aids Prime Contractors to build more reliable and trained small business partners who can perform on DOD awards
- Can strengthen relationship with DoD and improve competitiveness in award proposals
- Can count toward subcontracting goal credit, giving mentors availability with new markets
Typical Protégé Benefits
- Gains industry experience working on Federal/DoD level contracts
- Receives practical training from Mentor on subjects like compliance, DoD Acquisition, cybersecurity and more
- Ability to gain lasting business relationships with established Federal/DoD Suppliers
There are two common types of Government MPP initiatives available, the first is the DoD MPP and the second is the Small Business Administration MPP. Key differences are below:
DoD MPP
Best for Suppliers wanting to break into or expand opportunities in the DoD supply chain.
- Mentors are typically large DoD Prime Contractors with active DoD contracts
- Typically the agreement length is 2-3 years
- For the approval process the Mentor must submit proposal to DoD OSBP and DLA and it must align with defense needs
SBA MPP
Best for Suppliers wanting broader access to federal contracting opportunities across Government agencies.
- Mentors can be only large business, nonprofit, or qualified small business
- SBA MPP can have several different forms, including opportunities to form a joint venture which allows the Mentor and Protégé to share their business strengths
- Typically the agreement length is up to 6 years (two 3-year terms)
- For the approval process, see How to Apply to the Program
For more information on SBA.gov Mentor-Protégé Program.