S.C. Department of Commerce awarded grant to support export assistance programs
September 20, 2017
The S.C. Department of Commerce has been awarded a State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for the sixth year. In total, the SBA is awarding $18 million to 44 states in this year’s round of STEP grants, which are designed to support and encourage small business export success. South Carolina was awarded its full requested amount of $340,600.
“We have an array of resources and tools available for small and medium-sized companies seeking to grow their customer base, and our export assistance program is certainly a critical component of those efforts,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt. “Exporting is an opportunity that companies of all sizes should take advantage of, as South Carolina is more widely considered a global powerhouse.”
An essential component of the state’s economic development efforts, S.C. Commerce continues to expand its export initiatives. In 2014, in an effort to build on the success of its own STEP program, the agency created South Carolina Opportunities for Promoting Exports, or SCOPE. Over the last five years, these two programs have generated more than $45 million in export sales, helping South Carolina companies sell products to 62 different countries around the world.
“The SBA’s STEP program’s objectives are to increase the number of small businesses that are exporting and increase the value of exports for those small businesses that are exporting,” said Gregg White, district director for the SBA South Carolina District Office. “This on-going initiative supports export opportunities and vigor for small businesses in South Carolina. This state is an ideal location for exporting.”
Projected to help more than 50 small and medium-sized businesses seize export opportunities this year, the grant funding reimburses small business participation in S.C. Commerce trade missions to Canada, Colombia, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom; major trade exhibitions, such as the Farnborough Air Show, the JEC World Composites Show and the NPE Plastics Show; and, involvement in U.S. Commercial Service programs. It also finances export training and other export-related initiatives by S.C. Commerce.
For more information on S.C. Commerce’s export assistance program, click here.
About S.C. Department of Commerce
As South Carolina’s leading economic development agency, the Department of Commerce works to recruit new businesses and help existing business grow. Commerce has recruited world-class companies to South Carolina such as BMW, Boeing, Continental, Giti Tire, LPL Financial Holdings, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Samsung, Toray and Volvo Cars and also supports startups, small and existing business, innovation and rural development initiatives. Commerce partners with the S.C. Technical College System via readySC to support workforce training and recruiting, and with the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce, which provides worker training and employment opportunities within the state. With a strong international footprint, since 2011, South Carolina has ranked among top three in the nation for attracting jobs through foreign investment on a per capita basis, according to IBM-Plant Location International. Additionally, in five of seven years, the state has won the Gold Shovel Award from Area Development magazine. For more information, visit www.SCcommerce.com.
