DECEMBER 28, 2023:
The South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development is making a $1-million investment in an organization that wants to help businesses grow South Dakota’s overseas sales and support high-quality jobs in the state.
South Dakota Trade, a public-private partnership that opened its doors in April 2023, has already assisted companies in securing over $3 million in direct sales. They provided education to over 70 international trade practitioners and executed South Dakota’s first trade mission trip in 10 years.
Governor Kristi Noem says over 27,000 South Dakotans are employed by jobs directly supported by exports. She says the state will continue to invest in its people and its workforce through the work of South Dakota Trade.
Earlier this year, Lt. Governor Larry Rhoden and Agriculture and Natural Resources Secretary Hunter Roberts were part of a trade mission to Mexico with SD Trade. The early results from that trip have netted a 50-to-1 return on investment for South Dakota’s economy.
Rhoden says Mexico is our second largest trade partner, and SD Trade is helping that partnership expand. He says its investment will make continued growth a reality for South Dakota agriculture and every industry.
The $1-million being invested is through GOED’s Future Fund. It will expand the service offerings SD Trade is able to provide to companies in the state and enable them to continue to grow South Dakota’s economy.
SD Trade team members work with all industries and company sizes. They also provide focused offerings for businesses anywhere on the international trade spectrum, from new-to-export companies to those with sophisticated trade teams. To learn more, go to www.southdakotatrade.com.
APRIL 25, 2023:
The U.S. Small Business Administration has given a $175,000 grant to South Dakota Trade, a Sioux Falls-based nonprofit organization, through the SBA’s State Trade Expansion Program. The funds will support South Dakota small businesses in gaining access and sales to foreign markets.
According to SBA South Dakota District Director Jaime Wood, agriculture and manufacturing are South Dakota’s top export industries. “Over 95 percent of global sales are outside of the U.S. borders,” said Wood. “STEP provides our vast variety of South Dakota businesses from many industries an opportunity to diversify their revenue producing streams by tapping into global sales. Wood added that SBA data indicates every $1 of STEP investment leveraged by small businesses equates to $42 in export sales.
In the past decade, STEP has been a catalyst for small businesses seeking to enter international markets, diversify and grow revenue streams, and identify new customers. To date, the national program has awarded $215.5 million in grants that directly support small businesses going global. The program remains in high demand with a combined request of over $39 million in funds in the past year alone. Individual STEP awards are managed at the local level by state government designated organizations. South Dakota Trade recently stood up as the state’s first independent facilitator of international trade and is designated by Governor Kristi Noem as the SD STEP recipient. South Dakota Trade has a mission to navigate international trade for South Dakota.
“South Dakota Trade’s top priority is growing exports from South Dakota – we cannot do that without growing small business exports,” said Luke Lindberg, President / CEO, South Dakota Trade. “The STEP Grant is the tool we need to assist South Dakota’s small business owners to access world markets.”
The STEP awards assist local entrepreneurs to enter and thrive in the global marketplace by providing small businesses with the information and tools they need to succeed in export-related activities. Exporting activities include participating in foreign trade missions, market sales trips, designing international marketing campaigns, participating in export trade show exhibits, and attending training workshops, as well as other important means of engagement.
“The strong federal-state-local partnership in launching STEP in South Dakota is paramount and we are grateful for the SD Trade leadership and Governor Noem’s strategic vision of growing our state as a competitive exporter of small business goods and services,” added Wood.
Expanding the base of small business exporters and improving the process to explore new trade opportunities is a key component of SBA’s small business strategy, in line with the Biden-Harris Administration’s goals of creating more opportunities for America’s small businesses to grow and compete. Since its creation in 2010 as part of The Small Business Jobs Act, STEP has recorded over $3.8 billion in exports with more than 12,000 small businesses receiving grants to fund their export opportunities and increase their footprint across 141 countries.
Explore how small business counseling from local SBA Resource Partners can help inform small business export strategies. For more information on STEP, additional details are posted on www.SBA.gov/STEP. To apply for STEP in South Dakota contact SD Trade at www.southdakotatrade.com.
Comments