Delaware Receives Trade and Export Promotion Award from the SBA

?State awarded $276,000 to promote Delaware business exports 

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today that Delaware’s Department of State will receive an FY 2015 State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Program award totaling $276,741 to support the state’s efforts to assist Delaware companies enter and develop markets overseas.

The SBA’s STEP Program makes matching-fund awards to states to assist small businesses enter and succeed in the international marketplace. The program’s objectives are to increase the number of U.S. small businesses that export and to increase the value of exports by small businesses. In the case of Delaware, the State will match the SBA grant with $92,247.00, bringing the total available for export efforts to $368,988.

The grant will be used to directly reimburse small and medium-sized companies for money spent on eligible, pre-approved export expenses such as international travel, trade show activities, international marketing materials and overseas interpreters.  The grant will also be used for a wide range of export-related marketing activities, from working with in-country trade reps to organizing trade missions to connect Delaware businesses with buyers and distributors abroad.

Global Delaware, the Department of State’s international economic development office, has begun planning for development missions to Mexico, Germany, South Korea and Canada, identified in a recent study as holding the most promise for Delaware companies. STEP grant funds are used to set up one-on-one business meetings with potential distributors and customers in the target markets, hire interpreters, and cover other costs associated with the missions, such as translating marketing presentations and paying for in-country transportation.

“Our congressional delegation has worked hard to restore funding for the STEP program. We believe this is a tremendous opportunity for Delaware businesses to grow their markets and create new jobs,” said Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock of the STEP award. “This is proven model to follow, and it has been successful in the past. We have trade reps in place, technical expertise and the export know-how. Now we need Delaware companies that want to grow internationally to step forward and apply for the export grants.”

Companies interested in applying for the STEP grant can find more information on the Global Delaware website.