$183 Billion. That's How Much the Federal Government Awarded to Small Businesses Last Year.
$183 billion in prime contracts went to small businesses in FY2024.
That's 28.8% of all federal contracting dollars. Fourth consecutive year of growth.
And yet, most small business owners say the same thing:
"I didn't even know I could bid on government contracts."
The Government Is Required to Award You Business
The government is legally required to award at least 23% of contracts to small businesses. They're exceeding that. Agencies that fall short face scrutiny from the SBA and Congress.
On top of that, there are set-aside programs that reserve contracts exclusively for specific groups:
- 8(a) businesses — $15.4B in FY2024
- Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned (SDVOSB) — $8.5B
- Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) — $31.7B
- HUBZone — $17.4B
If you hold one of these certifications, there are contracts set aside specifically for you. The opportunity is real.
The Hardest Part Isn't Qualifying
The hardest part isn't qualifying. It's finding the right opportunity before the deadline passes.
SAM.gov posts thousands of opportunities every week. Most contractors don't have a system to filter the noise. They either miss relevant contracts entirely or spend hours manually searching through irrelevant results.
What a Modern Monitoring System Does Differently
Instead of searching SAM.gov every morning, a monitoring system like TenderSentinel:
- Scans every new opportunity posted daily
- Matches each one against your NAICS codes, set-aside certifications, and keywords
- Scores them 0–10 for relevance to your business
- Delivers only the top matches to your inbox at 9am
The result: you see fewer opportunities, but they're the right ones — with enough lead time to respond.
With $183 billion on the table and a legal mandate pushing agencies to award more to small businesses, the opportunity has never been larger. The question is whether your business has the intelligence infrastructure to capture it.
TenderSentinel monitors SAM.gov daily and scores every opportunity against your NAICS codes, set-asides, and keywords — so you never miss a relevant contract. Start your free trial →
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