FY 2014 STEP Awards announced

SBA to award $8 million to promote small business exporting.

The Small Business Administration announced that 24 awards will be made to states to support activities to increase exporting by small businesses. The State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Program was appropriated $8 million to award by Sept. 30.

The STEP program has two objectives: to increase the number of small businesses that begin to export and to increase the value of exports for small business that currently export. This is the third round of awards, with 49 state applications received. The previous round of awards was made in FY 2012, and awardees reported a return on investment of federal funds of over 19-1.

The 2014 awards are designed for states to assist small businesses with the following export-related activities: participation in foreign trade missions, foreign market sales trips, subscription services provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, 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.

For a list of awardees and more information on the STEP program, visit the SBA website.

Source: SBA