Houston expands support for veteran-owned businesses; city to add veteran-owned certifications

City officials and veteran-business advocates said the City of Houston will expand formal recognition and certification for veteran-owned firms and that local groups are pressing to increase government contracting opportunities for veteran entrepreneurs.

The Office of Business Opportunity (OBO) announced plans at the town hall to add a veteran-owned small business enterprise certification and a disabled-veteran owned-business certification to the city’s supplier-certification suite. The OBO representative said the new certifications will be added “this year,” and that the office provides one-on-one advising on licensing, permitting and contracting for small businesses.

Dave Weaver, president of the Houston Regional Veterans Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has worked with city partners and federal studies to boost Houston’s rank for veteran-business support and that the chamber printed a second veterans-business buyer’s guide to connect veteran-owned firms with procurement opportunities. Weaver said the chamber helped the Office of Business Opportunity and other partners push veteran-focused certification and procurement efforts and noted ongoing state-level legislation to ease licensing transfer and expand certification recognition.

Participants urged city agencies and contracting officers to be intentional about using veteran-owned suppliers and to include veteran-business goals in contracting outreach. Local advocates said platforms and directories should be publicized more broadly and that veteran-owned firms should be actively recruited for city and airport contracts.

Supporters also mentioned training and licensing reforms to reduce barriers for service-member spouses and transitioning veterans seeking licensed professions.