Certification Criteria

To become a certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) with the Central & North Florida Minority Supplier Development Council, your business must meet the following requirements. Both current and historical facts are considered in determining ownership qualifications and participation in the management and operations of the company. 

• Your business is a for-profit enterprise.
• Your business is physically located within the geographical area of Central or North Florida.
• Your business is at least 51% ethnic minority owned. Ethnic minority owned is defined as any business having owner(s) belonging to the following minority groups: African American, Hispanic/Latino American, Asian, Asian Indian, Pacific Islander and Native-American.
• The minority/ethnic owner(s) of the business must be U.S. Citizens.
• The minority/ethnic owner(s) of the business must be active in management and daily business operations.

For purposes of all NMSDC's program, an ethnic-minority group member is an individual who is a U.S. Citizen with at least 1/4 or 25% minimum (third-party governmental documentation to support claim of 25% required from applicant) and is a person whose bloodline reflects an indigenous heritage from the following countries:

African-American/Black-  A U.S. citizen having origins in any black racial groups of Sub-Sahara Africa (not of Hispanic origin). These countries include the following:

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina-Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana,, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Caribbean natives of African descent are also eligible.

The Caribbean is a region of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (most of which are enclosed by the sea), and the surrounding coasts. The region is located southeast of the Gulf of Mexico and North America, east of Central America, and to the north of South America. These islands include the following:

Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Croix, Saint John, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, Saint Thomas, Saint Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago and Tortola.

Hispanic/Latino American-  A U.S. citizen of true-born Latin heritage from any of the following regions: Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean basin only. These countries include the following:

Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Asian, Asian Indian and Pacific Islanders American- A U.S. citizen whose origins are from Asia/Pacific Islander region. These countries include the following:

Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Guam, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysian, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, Taiwan, U.S. Trust Territories of the Pacific or the Northern Marianas and Vietnam.

Native American- A person who is an American Indian, Eskimo, Aleut or Native Hawaiian, and regarded as such by the community of which the person claims to be part.

Native Americans must be documented members of a North American tribe, band or otherwise organized group of native people who are indigenous to the United States and proof can be provided through a Native American Blood Degree Certificate.

NOTE: Being born in a country listed above does not, by itself, suffice to make an individual a member of an ethnic-minority group. 

GROUPS NOT CERTIFIABLE by NMSDC are listed below, and not limited to:

• Asia Minor Region (Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey)
• Europe (Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,  Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vatican City)
• Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal)
• Northern Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara)
• Persian Gulf (Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen)

Green card holders/resident aliens are not eligible for certification.

 More Information

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Johanna De La Cadena, Certification & MBE Outreach Specialist, at (407) 404-6701 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

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