By : David Hendricks
Source : http://www.mysanantonio.com
Category : Small Business Grant
The University of Texas at San Antonio Institute for Economic Development will develop small-business development centers in five Caribbean nations under an agreement with the Organization of American States and the Caribbean Export Development Agency.
The project is expected to widen trade opportunities for South Texas small businesses.
A U.S. grant of $960,000 through the U.S. Mission to the OAS will be used to launch the two-year Caribbean project in Belize, Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia and Dominica. The UTSA Institute's International Trade Center will lead the project, which will emphasize assistance for women-run small businesses, said Robert McKinley, UTSA associate vice president.
The UTSA Institute has long operated a Small Business Development Center in the San Antonio area in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, which operates similar programs with universities across the nation.
The SBDCs assist with business startups and expansions by providing help with management, technology guidance, marketing, exporting, government contracting and other services.
The UTSA International Trade Center started replicating the SBDCs in Mexico in 2003. There are now 104 SBDCs in Mexico. It also has trained economic development practitioners to set up SBDCs in El Salvador and Colombia. In a U.S. State Department program called Central American Pathways, additional SBDCs have been established with the help of UTSA in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama, McKinley said.
“The Caribbean must not be left out, as the region can benefit greatly from this initiative,” McKinley said.
“It is now the time to diversify our economy and in believing in ourselves and developing the internal market of the Caribbean,” Escipion Oliveira, deputy director of the Caribbean Export Development Agency, said in a prepared statement. Oliveira added that he hopes the program will be extended to other Caribbean countries.
The UTSA International Trade Center, headed by director Cliff Paredes, will begin the Caribbean program next week with training in Belize.
The center also operates an online trade program linking South Texas small businesses that are SBDC clients with buy-and-sell opportunities with small businesses in other countries. The Internet site is www.sbdcglobal.com.
Last year, the UTSA International Trade Center assisted with $210 million in international sales made by small businesses in the San Antonio region, McKinley said.
The Caribbean project with the OAS “will result in our clients and partners being connected to hundreds of international SBDCs and hundreds of thousands of their clients throughout the Americas,” Paredes said.
McKinley said the UTSA Institute also is in discussions with Brazil to link with Brazil's small-business development program.
Source : http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/UTSA-to-expand-small-business-program-to-the-3365162.php
Source : http://www.mysanantonio.com
Category : Small Business Grant
The University of Texas at San Antonio Institute for Economic Development will develop small-business development centers in five Caribbean nations under an agreement with the Organization of American States and the Caribbean Export Development Agency.
The project is expected to widen trade opportunities for South Texas small businesses.
A U.S. grant of $960,000 through the U.S. Mission to the OAS will be used to launch the two-year Caribbean project in Belize, Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia and Dominica. The UTSA Institute's International Trade Center will lead the project, which will emphasize assistance for women-run small businesses, said Robert McKinley, UTSA associate vice president.
The UTSA Institute has long operated a Small Business Development Center in the San Antonio area in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, which operates similar programs with universities across the nation.
The SBDCs assist with business startups and expansions by providing help with management, technology guidance, marketing, exporting, government contracting and other services.
The UTSA International Trade Center started replicating the SBDCs in Mexico in 2003. There are now 104 SBDCs in Mexico. It also has trained economic development practitioners to set up SBDCs in El Salvador and Colombia. In a U.S. State Department program called Central American Pathways, additional SBDCs have been established with the help of UTSA in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama, McKinley said.
“The Caribbean must not be left out, as the region can benefit greatly from this initiative,” McKinley said.
“It is now the time to diversify our economy and in believing in ourselves and developing the internal market of the Caribbean,” Escipion Oliveira, deputy director of the Caribbean Export Development Agency, said in a prepared statement. Oliveira added that he hopes the program will be extended to other Caribbean countries.
The UTSA International Trade Center, headed by director Cliff Paredes, will begin the Caribbean program next week with training in Belize.
The center also operates an online trade program linking South Texas small businesses that are SBDC clients with buy-and-sell opportunities with small businesses in other countries. The Internet site is www.sbdcglobal.com.
Last year, the UTSA International Trade Center assisted with $210 million in international sales made by small businesses in the San Antonio region, McKinley said.
The Caribbean project with the OAS “will result in our clients and partners being connected to hundreds of international SBDCs and hundreds of thousands of their clients throughout the Americas,” Paredes said.
McKinley said the UTSA Institute also is in discussions with Brazil to link with Brazil's small-business development program.
Source : http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/UTSA-to-expand-small-business-program-to-the-3365162.php
