A Woman-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) is a business enterprise in which at least fifty-one percent (51%) is owned, operated and controlled by citizens or permanent resident aliens who are women. To become certified, woman owned businesses must meet a number of requirements and have authority to do business in New York State.
To strengthen NY State's economy and increase equal opportunites competing for state contracts, Governor Cuomo launched the MWBE Certification Campaign to encourage minority and women business owners to certify with NY State and take advantage of current and upcoming State procurement opportunities. Under the MWBE program, the State has certified more than 4,300 MWBEs and recertified more than 3,600 MWBEs which has doubled the number of State-certified firms in just five years.