SBA lacks effective controls on mentors and proteges, IG says

SBA has OK'd 891 All Small Mentor-Protege agreements

     The inspector general of the Small Business Administration issued a critical report on Sept. 17 finding that the SBA is not effectively managing its All Small Mentor-Protege program.

      The result is that the SBA potentially is allowing unqualified participants in the program and reducing the benefits to the small business proteges, IG Hannibal "Mike" Ware wrote.

      The report is one of the first studies providing insight into the performance of the popular All Small Mentor-Protege program that started in 2016. While the SBA has approved nearly 900 All Small mentor-protege agreements to date, the IG report could cast some doubt on the program's success:...more....