The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) says it will provide $250,000 to the Empire State Development’s (ESD) Global NY division.
It’s part of the newest round of awards in the State Trade Expansion (STEP) grant program, which seeks to “support export growth” among U.S. small businesses.
ESD will also provide nearly $135,000 in matching funds to coincide with the federal award, SBA said.
(Sponsored)
National Labor Relations Board Bans “Captive Audience” Meetings
Since 1948, the National Labor Relations Board respected an employer’s right to hold mandatory paid employee meetings during company time so that its views about unionization could be directly communicated
Working Another Job While on FMLA Leave is Not Necessarily Misconduct
Imagine this. You have an employee who is on leave pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and you discover that the employee is working for another employer.
Approved STEP funds can assist New York small businesses with participation in programmed foreign trade missions; subscription to services provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce; trade show exhibition (international and qualified domestic trade shows); participation in export training workshops; and qualified foreign-market sales trips
“Air Innovations in North Syracuse is a great example of how a local small business can flourish by entering global markets. As of last year, one third of their total business was through exports,” Bernard J. Paprocki, district director of SBA’s Syracuse office, said in a statement. “SBA’s STEP grant program allowed the Onondaga County business to transform their businesses’ initial focus on floral coolers to meet refrigeration, air conditioning and filtration needs for the aerospace, military, semiconductor and pharmaceutical sectors around the world.”
“The opportunities for small businesses to grow through exporting are substantial, especially during this unprecedented time. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a paradigm shift to increased web-based sales and virtual trade missions,” Steve Bulger, SBA Regional Administrator, added. “Ninety-six percent of a small business’ potential customers live outside the U.S. and two-thirds of the world’s purchasing power is in foreign countries.”
Bulger oversees the federal agency’s operations in the Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic regions.
He notes the SBA’s STEP program is designed to meet three distinctive goals.
The first is to increase the number of small businesses that export not only in New York, but around the nation. The second is to boost the value of exports for small businesses, and the third goal is to increase the number of small businesses “exploring significant new trade opportunities.”
