(a) Mentor firms will be solely responsible for selecting Protege firms. Mentors are encouraged to select from a broad base of small business concerns including small disadvantaged business concerns, women-owned small business concerns, veteran-owned small business concerns, service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns, and HUBZone small business concerns. A Protege must be either a current subcontractor or a newly selected subcontractor for the prime contractor's GSA contract.
(b) Mentor firms may have more than one Protege. GSA reserves the right to limit the number of Proteges participating under each mentor firm.
(c) The selection of Protege firms by mentor firms is not protestable, except for a protest regarding the size or eligibility status of an entity selected by a mentor to be a Protege. Such protests shall be handled in accordance with FAR 19.703(b). The contracting officer shall notify the Office of Small Business Utilization (OSBU) of the protest.