ROCKVILLE, MD, March 7, 2016 - DSFederal, Inc. was recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as one of the top Woman-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) of the Year. SBA commended the firm for its economic contribution to the Rockville community and for exemplifying the entrepreneurial spirit of the nation. The event, held at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., honored DSFederal and four other WOSBs, including TribalTech LLC, Elocen Group, Government Business Solutions, and Edifice Solutions.
At the awards ceremony, SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet announced that the Federal government had surpassed its 5% Woman-Owned Small Business contracting goal for the first time since the goal was set by Congress in 1994. Out of $90.7 billion in contract awards to small businesses in FY15, the Federal government dedicated $17.8 billion to woman-owned firms, adding more than half a million jobs to the economy, Contreras-Sweet said.
“More and more, women-owned small businesses are at the heart of our nation's greatest technological advances, moving the world forward in cybersecurity, clean energy, human capital, and many other industries,” she wrote in a Huffington Post blog post. “Small businesses are some of the most agile, pioneering, and cost-effective partners for the federal government."
The Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year award comes less than a year after SBA honored CEO Sophia Parker as Maryland’s 2015 Small Business Person of the Year, recognizing DSFederal for its substantial growth, commitment to innovation, and philanthropic efforts. DSFederal was also named a Top Minority-Owned Business by the Washington Business Journal. “The Federal government has paved the way for creating opportunities for women in business,” Parker said in a statement. “Women are phenomenal entrepreneurs who want to make a lasting economic impact through our work. It takes a sisterhood to make the world a better place.”
About DSFederal: DSFederal is a woman-owned consulting firm that specializes in research support, enterprise IT solutions, business process improvement, and training for Federal government agencies. The company has received awards from the U.S. Small Business Administration (Top Woman-Owned Small Business), the Washington Business Journal (Top Small Technology Company), and SmartCEO (Cornerstone Award.) Clients include the Departments of Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Transportation, Defense, and Agriculture, among others. Projects range from mobile app development to training solutions to customization of software and processes in support of multi-billion dollar efforts for HHS agencies. www.dsfederal.com