The Department of Defense (DoD) expanded the footprint of small business participation in the defense industrial base in FY24 with an increase of $4.9B in contract awards to small businesses. The DoD’s overall performance garnered an "A" rating overall for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s FY24 agency small business scorecard. The 90+ APEX Accelerators across the country and DoD Mentor-Protégé Program continues to provide a robust footprint and platform to cultivate companies to acquire the capabilities to become suppliers of critical technologies and services necessary for supply chain resilience and bolstering deterrence.