Mentor Protégé Program

We are thrilled about the development of CEI’s Mentor Protégé Program (MPP). This innovative program is designed to foster the growth and mentorship of minority, women, and persons with disabilities-owned businesses. This program will enable experienced vendors to support developing vendors, thus creating more equitable access to economic growth.

The MPP offers benefits to both the mentor and the protégé in four key areas:

• Diversity The MPP will promote the development and mentoring of minority, women, and persons with disabilities-owned businesses, contributing to the objective of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Connection The MPP will enable experienced and BEP-certified vendors to foster long-term relationships and form business opportunities.
• Support The MPP will provide comprehensive developmental assistance offered by experienced vendors to BEP-certified vendors, enhancing their core capabilities and providing the opportunity to receive a reputable media feature on CEI's MPP website . This support is designed to reassure and boost the confidence of the participants.
• Opportunity The MPP will create an equitable pathway towards economic growth for BEP–certified vendors by maximizing their certification, providing industry guidance from well-established vendors, and increasing access to subcontracting opportunities. In addition, experienced firms will be able to identify potential diverse subcontractors.

Stay tuned for more details as the program development continues! If you have questions or desire additional information, please contact (312) 814-4190 or email cei.bep.mentor.protege@illinois.gov.

If you are interested in becoming a MPP mentor or protégé, please share your contact information with CEI by completing the form linked below. 

The Mentor Protégé Program aims to:

• Motivate and encourage established businesses to provide developmental assistance to BEP-certified firms; 
• Maximize access to the State’s procurement programs;
• Foster long-term relationships; 
• Enhance the core capabilities of minority, women, and persons-with-disabilities-owned businesses; and 
• Increase subcontracting opportunities for those diverse businesses.

The mentor must enter into an agreement with a BEP-Certified Firm (their protégé) who will self-perform a commercially useful function as a subcontractor.

The mentor must provide mandatory capacity-building to the protégé in the following areas:

• Provide guidance and oversight to the protégé.
• Work with the protégé to develop a project management plan from the project's conception to project completion.
• Familiarize protégé with applicable laws, regulations, and rules.
• Identify protégé's unique challenges and provide a plan to address each challenge.

• The protégé must be BEP-certified, in good standing, and have the wherewithal and experience to perform under the prime consultant.
• The protégé should have an established track record as a professional services consultant and expressed interest in expanding its services. The protégé is eligible to participate in other subcontracting opportunities on other contracts outside the parameters of the Mentor Protégé Program. Exclusive agreements between the mentor and protégé are prohibited and violate federal antitrust laws.
• The protégé must remain a separate and distinct independent business entity from the mentor.