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HUB Mentor Protégé Program

The Texas Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Mentor Protégé Program fosters relationships allowing prime contractors to guide and support small business owners, helping them develop and grow their contracts and subcontracts with state agencies.

The relationships are mutually beneficial because mentors can use their protégés to fulfill HUB subcontracting requirements when they bid for state contracts with expected values of $100,000 or more. The program helps build partnerships prior to awarding contracts to establish confidence in performance.

State agencies or institutions of higher education sponsor Mentor Protégé Program agreements. The approved Mentor Protégé agreements are registered and posted onto the Comptroller’s agreement list. These approved Mentor Protégé agreements are used by state agencies to determine if a good faith effort for subcontracting opportunities to active and certified HUBs has been identified in the HUB Subcontracting Plan (HSP) per Texas Administrative Code Section 20.298(k).

Companies interested in establishing a Texas HUB Mentor Protégé agreement should:

  1. Contact a state agency you have already done business with or search the HUB Report for agencies that purchase the goods and services your company provides.
  2. Ask how they match prospective mentors and protégés.

Administration

Each state agency with a biennial appropriation that exceeds $10 million shall implement a Mentor Protégé Program. State agencies may elect to implement a program individually or cooperatively and are encouraged to address the needs of protégé businesses in critical areas of state procurement.

Participation in the program requires the mentor must be registered on the Texas Centralized Master Bidders List (CMBL) before the agreement is approved and maintain registration for the duration of the agreement. The protégé must be an active Texas HUB certified, and the Mentor Protégé Program agreement be sponsored by a state agency. (Texas Administrative Code Section 20.298(e))

The following criteria may be considered for mentor participation by state agencies:

  • Previous mentoring experience and prior work history.
  • Ability to provide developmental guidance in areas identified by the protégé.
  • Good standing to do business with the state.

The following criteria may be considered for protégé participation by state agencies:

  • HUB certification under the Texas HUB Program.
  • Business in operation for at least one year.
  • Desire to participate with a mentoring firm.
  • Ability to identify the type of guidance needed for business development.
  • Good standing to do business with the state.

For more information, please contact the Statewide Procurement Division's Statewide HUB Program toll-free at: 888-863-5881 or email via StatewideHUBProgram@cpa.texas.gov.