North Carolina HUB Program Eliminated: What Small Businesses Need to Know
KNorth Carolina’s new state budget has eliminated the Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses, commonly known as the HUB Office. The change became effective immediately after more than 25 years of service to minority-owned, women-owned, disabled-owned, and other historically underutilized businesses across the state.
For many North Carolina business owners, HUB certification represented more than a designation. The program helped businesses gain visibility, receive training, understand government procurement, and compete for state and local contracting opportunities.
What Did the HUB Office Do?
The HUB Office was established in 1999 to promote economic opportunities for historically underutilized businesses. Over the years, it helped thousands of companies obtain HUB and Small Business Enterprise certifications while encouraging more diverse participation in government contracting.
The program supported qualifying businesses owned and controlled by women, minorities, disabled individuals, and other disadvantaged business owners.
Its elimination creates understandable concern for certified companies that invested time, effort, and resources into becoming qualified vendors.
Does This Mean HUB-Certified Businesses Lose Their Opportunities?
The immediate elimination applies to the HUB Office and program administration. Business owners should not automatically assume that every existing certification, participation requirement, local program, or contracting opportunity has disappeared.
North Carolina statutes still contain provisions defining historically underutilized businesses and addressing statewide certification. Because the state’s transition is still developing, vendors should closely follow official guidance rather than relying on assumptions or unofficial information.
State agencies and local governments may also have separate contracting goals, supplier-diversity policies, or certification requirements. Businesses should review each solicitation carefully to determine which certifications are currently recognized.
The Small Business Enterprise Program Will Continue
The North Carolina Department of Administration announced that it intends to continue serving small businesses through the North Carolina Small Business Enterprise Program, or NCSBE.
The NCSBE Program is race- and gender-neutral and is designed to provide contracting opportunities to qualifying North Carolina small businesses. It is being moved to the Division of Purchase and Contract, with additional transition details expected from the state.
This means small businesses should begin reviewing their eligibility for NCSBE certification and make sure their vendor registrations remain accurate and active.
What Certified Businesses Should Do Now
Business owners should not stop pursuing government contracts because of this change. Instead, this is the time to become more intentional.
Keep your eVP vendor profile current, confirm the status of your certifications, and continue checking individual bid documents for participation requirements. Businesses should also pursue other certifications for which they qualify, including NCDOT SBE, DBE, WBE, MBE, airport authority certifications, municipal small-business programs, and federal certifications.
Current HUB vendors should save copies of their approval letters, certificates, application records, and vendor-profile information. Those documents may be helpful while agencies determine how existing vendors and records will be handled.
What This Means for Bonnie and Clyde Trucking LLC
As a certified small and woman-owned transportation company, Bonnie and Clyde Trucking LLC understands how important these programs are to companies seeking a fair opportunity to compete.
The elimination of the HUB Office is disappointing, but it does not eliminate our qualifications, experience, reliability, or ability to perform government contracts. We will continue pursuing opportunities through NCDOT, state procurement, municipal agencies, airport authorities, and other public-sector programs.
Certifications may help open doors, but strong performance, competitive pricing, proper documentation, and dependable service are what keep those doors open.
Moving Forward
North Carolina small businesses should remain informed, organized, and prepared. Government procurement requirements can change, but opportunities will continue to exist for companies that actively monitor solicitations and maintain the registrations needed to compete.
Bonnie and Clyde Trucking LLC remains committed to building partnerships, delivering dependable transportation services, and creating a lasting legacy through public- and private-sector contracting.
