Background

Recent state-level legislation repealed North Carolina's Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) provisions, dissolved the HUB office, and ended the state’s HUB certification program. Up until HUB's elimination, the City of Asheville's Minority and Women Owned Business (MWBE) participation in local procurement of goods and services was informed by the North Carolina general statutes that authorized the HUB Office. The City of Asheville participated in the 2025 North Carolina HUB Economic Impact Study which demonstrated the impact and business value of HUB firms to the North Carolina state-wide economy 

In response, the City intends to pause race- and gender-conscious goal-setting in order to minimize legal risk while allowing critical procurement to continue uninterrupted.  This pause also provides the necessary runway to develop a policy proposal for a Small Business Enterprise (SBE) framework– a framework that was included in the recommendations of the City’s 2023 Disparity Study.

Project Objective

Asheville will temporarily pause race- and gender-conscious MWBE goal-setting through December 31, 2026, as it develops a policy proposal to transition to a size- and income-based SBE model. According to the City’s 2023 Disparity Study, over 92% of local minority- and women-owned businesses operate with under 20 employees and $500,000 in annual revenue—meaning the vast majority of target vendors will remain fully eligible under an SBE framework.

The City of Asheville aims to develop a robust policy proposal to build a Small Business Enterprise (SBE) program for City Council’s consideration that promotes small business resiliency, equips businesses to successfully compete in the marketplace, and provides match-making opportunities within the City’s procurement of goods and services.

The City of Asheville remains committed to continue serving and supporting underutilized businesses in our community through the sharing of helpful information and state updates, resources, and business opportunities. Current and future City vendors will remain informed during this process.

Engagement

During the Operational Pause, the City of Asheville will engage with the businesses most affected by these changes, those being MWBE vendors registered with the City, as well as with other small businesses in the Asheville region.

Input collected during this time will help define what the small business landscape looks like in the Asheville region. These insights can help inform recommendations to the ABI Policy, as well as to identify opportunities to expand the Metropolitan Statistic Area (MSA) which the City uses when procuring goods and services.

Small Business research findings and recommendations to the Policy will be presented to the Asheville City Council early in 2027.