Mentor-Protégé Program
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) currently is developing a Mentor-Protégé program (MPP). Veterans Affairs Acquisition Regulation 819.71 has been published to provide details regarding the MPP.
We are not currently accepting MPP agreements. The MPP will be implemented during fiscal year 2010. Under the VA MPP, protégé firms must be Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business or Veteran Owned Small Business.
The MPP will be a developmental program to provide vital business expertise to Veteran owned enterprises. The MPP will serve as tool for Veterans who are business owners to become viable and/or more competitive in the small business community.
VA’s MPP will be an “in-kind” program. VA’s MPP will not be a funded program.
Mentors and Protégés are responsible for finding their counterparts.
Mentors shall confirm eligibility of protégés by documenting the verified status of protégés in the Vendor Information Pages (VIP) database. Protégés must maintain verified status throughout the term of the Mentor-Protégé Agreement. Failure to do so shall result in cancellation of the Agreement.
The forms of developmental assistance a mentor can provide to a protégé include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Guidance relating to —
- Financial management
- Organizational management
- Overall business management/planning
- Business development; and
- Technical assistance
- Loans
- Rent-free use of facilities and/or equipment
- Property
- Temporary assignment of personnel to a Protégé for training
- Any other types of permissible, mutually beneficial assistance
At this time, we are developing a guidebook and agreement template. These documents will be posted on this web page in the future. Please check this web page periodically for updates.
David Canada and Fernando Guerra are the primary points of contact for this program.