Review of Selected Office of Minority Business Enterprise Activities

A preliminary inquiry into the operations and efficiency of the Office of Minority Business Enterprise (OMBE) was conducted to determine whether the following information could be obtained: the number and percentage of minority group members employed by OMBE, a State-by-State breakdown of the number and amount of Small Business Administration (SBA) loans obtained by OMBE-funded organizations for minority-owned businesses, the average cost to the taxpayer for each business established due to OMBE efforts, and the number of OMBE-assisted companies that have become profitable and the number sustaining losses.

During fiscal years (FY) 1972 through 1977, the number of minority members employed by OMBE ranged from 152 to 206, representing percentages from 64.7 to 80.2. The State-by-State breakdown was available only for FY's 1976 and 1977, and data for other years were incomplete. The average cost to OMBE for servicing each client totaled $1,701 per year. OMBE does not collect data on profitability, and there was not enough data to determine the payment status of SBA loans made to OMBE-assisted companies.