CARSON CITY – Thirty Nevada-based small businesses were recently awarded with $150,000 in federal grants to help them compete in the international marketplace. It’s the second batch of small businesses to receive funding this year through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) competitive State Trade Expansion Program (STEP).
The Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) awarded the STEP funds as part of Governor Steve Sisolak’s efforts to help small businesses.
“Small businesses are the backbone of Nevada’s economy and supporting their expansion into foreign markets will help them grow,” Gov. Sisolak said. “The stronger our small businesses are, the stronger Nevada’s economy will be as a whole.”
The objective of GOED’s award is to increase the number of Nevada businesses exporting products, thus increasing export sales.
“Benefits of exporting for Nevada small businesses are increased competitiveness, increased sales, higher profits, lower costs, reduced vulnerability and extending the product life cycle,” said Michael Brown, GOED executive director. “Exports lead to domestic production. Domestic production requires domestic labor which leads to an increase in employment in our state. There have been more than 50,000 jobs created by exports in Nevada last year.”
The SBA has adapted their regulations to encourage the use of virtual tools to prevent the spread of COVID-19, while also allowing businesses to resume international trade initiatives. This includes virtual service offerings, virtual trade shows, export research tools, online export trainings, market intelligence, virtual matchmaking services, eCommerce innovation lab, design of marketing media, search engine optimization, translation, localization and Rural America Intelligence Service for Exporters.
According to a statement from GOED, earlier this year it awarded $204,000 to 38 small businesses under the STEP grant program. Nevada small businesses have been awarded nearly $1.6 million in STEP funds since the program began in 2011. GOED said the current project’s efforts have generated far more in revenues: $4.6 million in export sales, significantly exceeding projected return on investment.
The following small businesses received SBA grants during this latest round of funding:
- 22nd Century Enterprises
- Additive Technologies
- Alpier, Cerno
- Bioscience
- Dynamic Sports Group
- Earthly Botanicals
- Eric Anderson
- Equipment Integration Solutions
- Evo Avia
- G & L Innovation
- HR Global Consulting
- Innosance
- Ioterra
- jBells
- Jojo’s Jerky
- Mario Basner Photography
- Mercantile Logistics & International Trade
- Monarch Media, NeOnBrand
- Nevada Nanotech Systems
- Nevada Southern Realty
- Nuclear Safety and Technology Services
- Omega Pacific Trading
- OneSource Wireless Solutions
- QuantumMark
- Rank Quantum
- Rockin Bettie
- Superior Post Tension
- Tribal Ink
- Work in Progress.
To learn more about the STEP grant, visit https://bit.ly/2VH8jo7
