The State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), a federally funded grant program that aims to increase export activities among small businesses, has awarded a grant totaling $600,000 to the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).
By paying for different expenditures related to entering and growing into foreign markets, the STEP program has assisted hundreds of small businesses throughout California in obtaining grants and finding clients in the worldwide economy.
Key Takeaway
- According to a statement from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the STEP program has funded $600k to Go-Biz. The GO-Biz International Affairs and Trade team will exclusively supervise and manage the California STEP award for the first time.
- The State of California has received around $8.5 million in STEP money since the program’s start in 2011.
We Covered this in our Weekly Wire Roundup
Role of STEP in the Betterment of Small Businesses
Through STEP, more than 1,200 small firms in California have engaged in international commerce over the past ten years, resulting in export sales of more than $85 million, demonstrating the economic resilience that exporting can foster.
Enterprises that export increase their revenues more quickly, add more employees, and give their employees higher wages than non-exporting businesses.
STEP management is eager to collaborate with its partners from throughout the state to guarantee that these advantages are provided to even more California small companies, especially those that have traditionally had difficulty accessing economic opportunity, with the help of this new round of STEP financing.
IECE, a STEP Partner
We also reported about one of STEM’s partners, IECE. The Citi Foundation has awarded $500K to The Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE) of California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB), to help local Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs and small businesses.
One of the STEP partners for Inland Southern California is IECE at CSUSB.
The California State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) assists small businesses, in the beginning, to export and helps companies expand by exporting into new markets. It also supports qualified small businesses to participate in International trade shows, trade missions, and other export promotion activities.
Read here: The Citi Foundation Awards $500K to The Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship (IECE)
Go-Biz’s Initiative to Strengthen Military Space Industries
We also reported about the new Task Force for the Space Industry launched by GO-Biz (Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development).
With the creation of this new Task Force, California, a world leader in aerospace and sophisticated manufacturing, will look for ways to strengthen its position and capitalize on potential future development in the commercial and military space industries.
Governor Newsom Announces Space Industry Task Force: California GO-Biz Director Picked to Lead it.
Startempire Wire | Sep, 2023
Wrap Up!
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has awarded $600,000 in loans to California GO-Biz, a nonprofit trade association that helps small businesses export.
The money will support an initiative to help small businesses in the state’s different industries sell their products and services overseas. The project is designed to increase exports by assisting small companies in performing better.
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