SBA awards New York state export-promotion funding

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) on Wednesday announced that New York is among 24 states it is recognizing with funding awards to support activities to increase small-business exporting.

The federal government appropriated $8 million for the State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) program to award by Sept. 30, the SBA said in the news release.

The SBA has awarded New York more than $311,000 to support small business with the STEP Global NY Exports initiative, Bernard Paprocki, director of the SBA Syracuse district, said in the release.

 “The award will be managed through New York State Department of Economic Development International Policy and when matched with $167,639 from the state, [will] total $479,005. This public-private partnership is designed to increase job creation and retention by providing New York small businesses with the tools and assistance they need to export their products in the global marketplace,” said Paprocki.

The 2014 awards are designed to help states assist small businesses with export-related activities.

They include participation in foreign-trade missions; foreign-market sales trips; subscription services that the U.S. Department of Commerce provides; design of international-marketing campaigns; export trade-show exhibits; training workshops; or other export initiatives that are in line with the objectives of the program, the SBA said.

The STEP program has two objectives, according to the SBA.

It seeks to increase the number of small businesses that begin to export and to increase the value of exports for small businesses that currently export.

The agency described the competition among the 49 state applications as “robust” for the third round of awards.

The amount of awards will vary based on the awardee’s approved project plan and budget, the SBA said.

Expanding the base of small-business exporters and making the process “as easy as possible is a key component” of the Obama Administration’s National Export Initiative, the agency added.

The STEP program has generated “very strong” results, according to the SBA.

For the second round of awards distributed in fiscal year 2012, recipients reported a return on investment of federal funds of over 19-to-1.

With today’s technological advances, small businesses are “better equipped than ever” to compete in a global marketplace, Maria Contreras-Sweet, SBA Administrator, said in the news release.

Exporting provides tremendous opportunities for America’s small businesses that are looking to expand and create jobs. The STEP program is another way that the U.S. Small Business Administration is partnering with states to give small businesses the tools and resources they need to take their business to the next level,” said Contreras-Sweet.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com