Native Hawaiian Enterprise & Federal Contracting
Kahiʻolani Foundation is a Native Hawaiian nonprofit organization and an SBA-recognized Controlling Entity. This page explains the Foundation’s Native Hawaiian Organization economic development model, how the SBA 8(a) Business Development Program applies to NHO-owned businesses, and how the Foundation’s operating companies are structured and held accountable.
Nā Kapuaʻi o Nā Kūpuna, Nā Ala no Ka Lā ʻApōpō
Our NHO Economic Development Model
Kahiʻolani Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a Native Hawaiian Organization. Under 13 CFR 124.3, a Native Hawaiian Organization is a not-for-profit community service organization serving Native Hawaiians in the State of Hawaii that is chartered by the State of Hawaii, is controlled by Native Hawaiians, and whose business activities will principally benefit Native Hawaiians.
On October 9, 2026, the U.S. Small Business Administration recognized Kahiʻolani Foundation as a Controlling Entity in the SBA certification system. That recognition allows the Foundation to sponsor and support entity-owned firms as they apply to the SBA 8(a) Business Development Program. It is not a certification of any individual company.
The model is straightforward. The Foundation owns operating companies. Each company operates independently in its own industry, under its own management, with its own contracts, certifications, and compliance obligations. The Foundation does not perform its companies’ contracts, and it does not hold itself out as the contracting party.
Federal contracting is one part of a long-term strategy for Native Hawaiian economic opportunity. The purpose is durable capacity: businesses that can employ people, compete in their industries, and, over time, generate resources that can lawfully support cultural preservation, education, and community benefit.
The Foundation
- A 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a Native Hawaiian Organization.
- Holds the cultural and community mission and operates the Foundation’s programs.
- Recognized by the SBA as a Controlling Entity able to sponsor and support entity-owned firms.
- Owns the operating companies. It does not perform their contracts.
- Is not the contracting party for an operating company’s work.
Each Operating Company
- A separate legal entity, owned by the Foundation.
- Responsible for its own management, authorized personnel, subcontractors, and contractual performance.
- Holds its own contracts, certifications, and industry qualifications.
- Responsible for its own performance, compliance, and reporting obligations.
- Receives business, contracting, and teaming inquiries directly.
Understanding the SBA 8(a) Program
The 8(a) Business Development Program is the principal federal program through which small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals gain access to federal contracting opportunities. For Native Hawaiian Organizations, it is also the framework through which an NHO can sponsor an entity-owned business.
The points below summarize the rules that matter most to NHO-owned businesses, including the special provisions available for qualifying Department of Defense requirements.
What the 8(a) Program Is
The 8(a) Business Development Program is the SBA program for small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. It is designed to help participants compete for federal contracts and build durable businesses. The SBA enters into contracts as the prime contractor and subcontracts performance to program participants. Under the Department of Defense and SBA Partnership Agreement, DoD contracting officers may award 8(a) contracts directly on the SBA's behalf (DFARS 219.800).
How NHO-Owned Firms Qualify
Under 13 CFR 124.110, a concern owned by an economically disadvantaged Native Hawaiian Organization is eligible to apply to the 8(a) program. The NHO must establish that it is economically disadvantaged and that its business activities will principally benefit Native Hawaiians, and the concern must qualify as a small business under 13 CFR part 121. The NHO does not need to possess the technical expertise to run the firm itself, but it must have managerial experience of the extent and complexity needed to run the concern.
Eligibility Belongs to the Firm
An NHO-owned firm's eligibility for 8(a) participation is separate and distinct from the individual eligibility of the NHO's members, directors, or managers (13 CFR 124.110(h)). The SBA does not treat an individual involved in the management or daily business operations of an NHO-owned participant as having used his or her individual eligibility (13 CFR 124.110(g)). An applicant concern must also possess reasonable prospects for success in competing in the private sector.
Competitive Opportunities
Many 8(a) requirements are competed among eligible program participants under FAR 19.805. A requirement is offered to the SBA, accepted into the program, and then competed among firms eligible for the applicable industry classification.
Sole-Source Pathways
When mutually agreeable, the SBA may authorize a contracting officer to negotiate directly with an 8(a) participant (FAR 19.808-1). A concern must be a current participant in the 8(a) program at the time of a sole-source award (FAR 19.808-1(e)). For NHO-owned participants, FAR 19.808-1(f) also restricts a sole-source award that would be a follow-on contract to an 8(a) contract performed by another participant owned by the same Native Hawaiian Organization.
Special Provisions for Qualifying DoD Requirements
A participant concern owned and controlled by an NHO may be awarded a sole-source Department of Defense 8(a) contract where the anticipated value of the procurement exceeds the applicable competitive threshold, if the SBA has not accepted the requirement into the 8(a) program as a competitive procurement (13 CFR 124.506(b)(2)). There is no requirement that such a requirement be competed whenever possible before it is accepted on a sole-source basis, and a follow-on to a previously competitive 8(a) procurement may be offered, accepted, and awarded on a sole-source basis to an NHO-owned concern for DoD contracts (13 CFR 124.506(b)(3)). DFARS 219.805-1(b)(2)(A) provides the corresponding DoD acquisition rule.
Joint Ventures
A joint venture between one or more eligible NHO-owned participants and one or more non-8(a) business concerns may be awarded sole-source 8(a) contracts above the competitive threshold amount, provided it meets the requirements of 13 CFR 124.513 (see 13 CFR 124.506(b)(4)).
Approvals Above Applicable Thresholds
Above the thresholds set by regulation, an agency may not award a sole-source 8(a) contract unless the contracting officer justifies the use of a sole-source contract in writing and obtains the required approval (13 CFR 124.506(b)(5); see also FAR 19.808-1 and DFARS 219.808-1).
Individual Certification Is Required
Recognition of the Foundation as a Controlling Entity is not an 8(a) certification, and it does not certify any company. Each operating company must independently apply for and receive its own SBA 8(a) certification. A company cannot receive an 8(a) award before the SBA admits it to the program.
This section summarizes publicly available federal regulations, including 13 CFR 124.3, 13 CFR 124.110, 13 CFR 124.506, and applicable FAR and DFARS provisions, for general educational purposes. It is not legal advice and is not a representation of SBA endorsement. Program requirements, procedures, and thresholds are set by regulation and may change; the current regulations and the SBA are the authoritative sources.
Connecting Federal Missions to Community Benefit
The relationship between business success and community benefit is deliberate, but it is not direct. An operating company earns revenue by performing work for its customers. That revenue belongs to the company and supports its own operations first.
Not all contract revenue becomes Foundation revenue. The path from federal work to community benefit runs through responsible corporate governance and the lawful availability of funds.
The Foundation’s accountability obligation runs in both directions. As a Native Hawaiian Organization, the Foundation must establish that its business activities will principally benefit Native Hawaiians (13 CFR 124.110(c)). Community benefit is reported the same way it always has been: through the Foundation’s public Transparency Ledger, reconciled quarterly.
This page does not state profit-distribution percentages, financial performance, employment totals, or community-impact amounts. Those figures are published only when they are documented and approved for publication.
Our Operating Companies
The Foundation’s operating companies are separately managed businesses. Each is responsible for its own qualifications, contracts, certifications, and compliance obligations.
Pacific Global Security Group LLC
Native Hawaiian Organization-Owned Operating Company
Pacific Global Security Group LLC is an intelligence-led cybersecurity and mission engineering company serving government, national-security, critical infrastructure, and commercial customers. Its capabilities include cybersecurity engineering, IT/OT and industrial control systems security, cyber and space mission support, and mission assurance.
- UEI
- EVKCJB9EYLT6
- CAGE
- 81KP5
Each operating company’s SBA 8(a) certification status must be independently established through official SBA records. The Foundation’s Controlling Entity approval does not itself certify a sponsored company. Each operating company must independently apply for and receive its own SBA 8(a) certification, and a company cannot receive an 8(a) award before the SBA admits it to the program. Company listings describe separately operated businesses and are not an endorsement of any company by the Foundation’s partners or by any federal agency.
Partnerships and Inquiries
To make sure inquiries reach the right party, business and contracting matters are directed to the operating company that would perform the work, while community and cultural matters are handled by the Foundation.
Government Acquisition Professionals
Contracting and market-research inquiries about an operating company’s capabilities, registrations, or past performance should be directed to that company. The Foundation is not the contracting party for its companies’ work.
Pacific Global Security Group LLC (opens in a new tab)Prime Contractors and Teaming Partners
Prime contractors seeking teaming, subcontracting, or supplier partners should contact the relevant operating company directly, so the inquiry reaches the entity that would perform the work.
Pacific Global Security Group LLC (opens in a new tab)Prospective Business Partners
Commercial and technology partners whose capabilities relate to an operating company’s lines of business should contact that company directly.
Pacific Global Security Group LLC (opens in a new tab)Community and Cultural Organizations
Community, cultural, educational, and nonprofit partnership inquiries, including requests for program support, are handled by the Foundation.
Contact the FoundationContact the Foundation
For official inquiries, community and cultural partnerships, program support requests, and general questions, use the Foundation’s existing contact channels. Business inquiries about an operating company should be sent to that company rather than to the Foundation.