Today, the Department of Commerce announced that more than half of its federal contract dollars were awarded to small businesses in Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, with a total investment of $2.8 billion in the small business economy. In addition, the Department of Commerce directed more than 25% of its contract dollars to Small Disadvantaged Businesses, for a total of $1.4 billion.

As a result of these efforts, the Department of Commerce was awarded an “A+” by the Small Business Administration as part of its FY2023 Small Business Procurement Scorecard. This is Commerce’s 8th consecutive year earning an “A+” for its achievements in small business contracting.

“Small businesses power America’s economy and are a crucial driver of employment and prosperity,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Thanks to President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we are making historic investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act. We are doing everything we can to support small business owners and ensure they can take advantage of these monumental opportunities.”

For FY2023, the Department of Commerce also exceeded its goals for directing contract dollars to women-owned small businesses, service-disabled-veteran-owned small businesses, and Historically Underutilized Business Zone small businesses. For more information on the Department of Commerce’s small business program, visit the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization on Commerce.gov.

The annual Procurement Scorecard from the Small Business Administration offers accurate and transparent contracting data and serves as a vital assessment tool, gauging the effectiveness of federal agencies in meeting their small business and socioeconomic prime contracting and subcontracting goals. The Department of Commerce’s full scorecard, along with a detailed explanation of the methodology, is available at SBA.gov.