Maine trade group receives $161000 to boost exports

Rose said the state hoped to have more information for small businesses interested in the STEP grant funds posted online this fall.

Exports are key to America’s economic growth, said SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet, in a statement.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin has announced West Virginia has been selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to receive $200,000 in State Trade and Export (STEP) grant funding to support a new export assistance program under the West Virginia Development Office – West Virginia First STEP-Next STEP. “Yet less than one percent of small businesses export; and of those that do, 58 percent of them export to only one country”.

Delaware small businesses looking to get a leg up on the worldwide market have some new help coming from state and federal officials.

The grant was created to increase small business exports for the United States. That includes things like Development Office trade missions, global trade shows and “Trade Winds” conferences organized by the U.S. Commercial Service.

Recipients in the first two rounds of STEP awards, in FY 2011 and FY 2012, reported a strong return on investment of over 19:1. “We know first-hand the direct positive impact this grant has on Arkansas small business and the creation of jobs”, said Dan Hendrix, president and CEO of the World Trade Center Arkansas.