Written by: Kieran Holloway, Hutch Alliance Manager

In January, thousands of small businesses, federal leaders, and industry partners will gather in Nashville for the National 8(a) Association’s National Small Business Conference. We’ll talk about growth, partnerships, and opportunity. But we should also talk about something bigger.

The 8(a) program is not just a contracting vehicle. It’s an American capability and a competitive advantage.

Today, that advantage matters more than ever because the United States has to move faster than ever. Whether we are modernizing aging infrastructure, executing Medicaid reforms and modernization efforts across states and federal partners, or accelerating Department of War preparedness, the pace of change is only increasing. The government needs more firms in the marketplace that can bring emerging, rapid capabilities into production, not in years, but in months.

That is exactly where high performing small businesses, including 8(a) firms, become a strategic asset.

 

A program built to expand the nation’s industrial strength

The SBA’s 8(a) Business Development program is a federal contracting and business development program designed to help small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals compete and scale through training, technical assistance, and access to set aside and sole source contracting opportunities.

The program’s roots trace to Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act, and Congress provided explicit statutory authority for the program through legislation in 1978, building on prior regulatory activity and formalizing a national commitment to expanding access to federal markets.

This matters because federal contracting is not small. The federal government obligated hundreds of billions of dollars through contracts in FY2024. When the federal government buys, whether for defense readiness, digital modernization, infrastructure delivery, or healthcare transformation, its supplier base becomes part of the nation’s operating system.

 

What the 8(a) program has delivered, real dollars, real outcomes

The impact of 8(a) participation isn’t theoretical. According to Congressional Research Service reporting, in FY2023, 8(a) firms were awarded more than $24 billion in federal contracts. (See CRS: R44844.)

And the 8(a) program sits inside a broader, growing small business contribution to federal contracting. SBA reported that in FY2024, small businesses received more than $183 billion in prime contracts, representing 28.8% of all federal contracting dollars, an all time high. (SBA announcement: January 10, 2025.)

The 8(a) program also gives agencies tools to move quickly within defined parameters. For example, SBA describes 8(a) sole source contract thresholds, such as up to $7 million for manufacturing NAICS codes and $4.5 million for other acquisitions. (SBA program page: details here.)

Speed is not a nice to have anymore. Infrastructure programs demand faster planning, permitting support, engineering services, cybersecurity, data integration, and resilient supply chains. Medicaid reforms and modernization require rapid technology delivery, strong compliance, data governance, and human centered operations that improve outcomes. Defense preparedness requires secure software, readiness logistics, training systems, cyber defense, and the ability to field capability faster than our competitors can react. In each of these mission areas, the United States benefits when more qualified firms can compete, partner, and deliver.

 

Why this matters to defense, national resilience, and innovation

We often talk about warfighter advantage or mission outcomes, but those outcomes increasingly depend on software, cybersecurity, data, supply chains, advanced services, and speed. A strong 8(a) ecosystem helps the government access specialized capabilities and helps agencies diversify risk away from over reliance on a narrow set of vendors.

It also strengthens national resilience. When we broaden the base of capable performers, we reduce single points of failure and create more pathways for surge capacity. That matters in cyber incidents, natural disasters, public health emergencies, and contested global environments where agility is decisive.

And it’s not an either or with large primes. A healthy small business base tends to raise the bar for everyone.

 

Competition fuels innovation, and primes benefit too

One of the most underappreciated benefits of the 8(a) program is the way it expands the competitive landscape. It creates pathways for small businesses to become credible performers, which in turn expands the set of teams that can deliver.

That dynamic pressures all of us, small and large, to improve, to modernize delivery, sharpen pricing discipline, build better talent pipelines, and bring forward real differentiators instead of recycled offerings.

The government’s small business goals and socioeconomic programs function, at their best, as an innovation engine. They keep the industrial base from calcifying, and they help the government adopt new approaches faster by giving agencies access to specialized providers that can move quickly from prototype to production.

 

America’s superpower is diversity of thought, background, and experience

I believe America’s enduring advantage is that we can draw strength from difference.

Founders and operators with distinct life experiences.
Veterans who understand mission urgency.
Socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs who see problems others miss.
Native and tribally connected enterprises with unique community driven models.
Small businesses that can pivot faster than legacy structures.

Across federal programs, SBA has shown that expanding participation is not symbolic, it’s measurable. For example, SBA reported growth in women owned small business participation and obligations in FY2024 reporting. (More context: Small Business Procurement Scorecard.)

This diversity isn’t just representation. It’s resilience. It’s adaptability. It’s a broader set of ideas applied to national scale problems. And when the mission requires speed, diversity of thought is a force multiplier because it produces more approaches, more options, and more innovation at the edge where problems are actually solved.

 

The pressure is real, higher expectations and a new era of scrutiny

8(a) companies have always carried a dual responsibility, earn the opportunity and deliver exceptional performance once awarded.

That responsibility is getting heavier, partly because the stakes are higher. The nation is asking for faster modernization, tighter security, better outcomes, and better stewardship of taxpayer dollars, all at once. That means the standard for execution must rise.

 

The full scale audit and what it could mean for the program’s future

In December 2025, SBA announced a major action. All 4,300 8(a) participants were directed to provide extensive financial and operational records covering the last three fiscal years, as part of a broad effort to address fraud, waste, and abuse. SBA stated that firms that fail to comply by January 5, 2026 may lose eligibility and could face further action. (SBA announcement: December 5, 2025.)

For many legitimate firms, this kind of data call is not a small lift. It’s time, staffing, documentation discipline, and often outside support.

Some firms may decide participation isn’t worth the compliance load.

Some may struggle operationally even if they’ve done nothing wrong.

Some may get delayed in growth while they respond.

I’m not arguing against accountability. The program must be protected from bad actors. Integrity is what keeps the program viable. But we should also be honest. When compliance gets heavier, the barrier to entry rises, and that can reduce the number of firms able to stay the course.

This is where strong ecosystems matter. Programs like Hutch and the Fearless Institute exist because they see these trends coming and they understand a simple truth. Small businesses do not scale through contracts alone. They scale through community, mentorship, shared best practices, and a strong symbiotic ecosystem that helps founders navigate real world challenges like compliance spikes, audit readiness, talent constraints, cash flow pressure, and the operational demands of growth.

At the exact moment the United States needs more qualified firms with emerging capabilities in the market, fewer participants would reduce competition and slow the pipeline of new capability. That is not where we want to end up as infrastructure, healthcare, and defense demands accelerate. The answer is not to let great companies fall out of the fight because the burden got heavier. The answer is to surround them with the support, partnerships, and practical guidance that keeps them moving forward. And, equip these companies with the resources they need to build resilient, profitable ventures that directly address community challenges turning innovation into tangible economic opportunity. This is exactly what Hutch is doing today.

Separately, SBA has also been operating under changes tied to how certain applicants and participants establish social disadvantage, requiring narratives in cases where a presumption could no longer be used, as SBA outlined in its program updates.

So the moment we’re in now is defined by two realities at once.

The mission value of 8(a) remains high.
The scrutiny and administrative burden are increasing.

And that is exactly why strong ecosystems that support small businesses at scale are not optional. They are one of the best ways to protect the pipeline of emerging capability the government needs, and to keep more high performing small businesses in the fight. Programs such as Hutch are dedicated to cultivating founders who leverage technology to drive systemic change and create economic mobility.

If the future is uncertain, the standard must be undeniable

The long term future of the program can feel unclear, especially in a political environment where procurement policy can change quickly.

But here’s what I believe.

Even if the program changes, the relationships and track record built through it will continue to shape the federal market, especially as agencies search for partners who can move faster, deliver securely, and prove value quickly.

When 8(a) firms deliver measurable outcomes, reduce risk for the customer, bring new ideas that perform in production, and show clean, auditable business practices, they don’t just use the program. They become part of the industrial base the country depends on.

That’s how the program lives on, officially or unofficially, through trust, performance, speed of delivery, and value.

About Kieran

Kieran Holloway is a GovCon growth and capture leader with a background in the U.S. Navy Intelligence Community as a Cryptologic Technician–Networks.

He helps emerging software and digital services companies break into and expand across federal and SLED markets by translating mission needs into clear win strategies, building partner ecosystems, and accelerating pipeline from first conversation to award. He’s led DoD-focused business development across U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force portfolios and built high-performing public sector GTM programs that turn differentiated tech into durable government revenue.

He currently serves as the Hutch Alliance Manager.