Delaware small businesses who are seeking support in selling around the world may now apply for a Compass Grant from Export Delaware. The Compass Grant helps Delaware small businesses navigate international business development through grant funding to support marketing and sales activities around the world.

Grant funds can be used to reimburse Delaware businesses for up to 50 percent of all pre-approved, eligible, international business travel and marketing expenses. This includes international business travel, website translation, localization, and global optimization, design of international marketing material, export education and training, CE Mark and compliance testing, translation of product information/user manuals, and exhibiting at international trade shows, and more.

“We are pleased to offer this brand-new grant to the Delaware business community,” said Delaware Secretary of State Jeff Bullock. “Businesses that sell internationally are more profitable, grow faster, and more resilient to economic fluctuations. They also create more local jobs benefiting our economy. We trust that this will be a worthwhile investment to take businesses to the next level.”

Export Delaware has a track record of helping small businesses grow and create jobs. By supporting Delaware small businesses to expand their exports, the agency has helped create 89 jobs and retain 234.5 jobs in Delaware since its inception. This is due to the agency’s practical business approach which provides tangible sales to the Delaware small business community.

The Compass Grant expands upon the agency’s efforts to help Delaware small businesses grow their international sales.

“This grant offers greater flexibility than previous programs,” said Beth Pomper, Director of International Business Development for Export Delaware. “We’re investing more time and funds into helping Delaware companies than ever before.”

Delaware small businesses who have been in business longer than one year, and have plans (or desire) to sell internationally are encouraged to learn more and apply online here. Contact the Export Delaware team with any questions at 302-577-8464 or via email at export@delaware.gov.

About Export Delaware: 

Export Delaware is the State’s official export resource for Delaware’s small and medium-sized businesses. An initiative of the Delaware Department of State, Export Delaware assists Delaware companies that seek to export their products and services. Experienced staff provides on-site guidance to businesses that are looking to explore export opportunities or to expand their current export activities to new markets.

The Compass Grant is a brand new grant program from the Delaware Department of State that helps Delaware small businesses navigate selling their products or services around the world.

Compass Grant Informational Webinar

Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 10:00 AM

Are you seeking financial support to help your organization grow your sales overseas? Join us for the Compass Grant Informational Webinar, which will provide you with essential insights into the brand-new Compass Grant, guiding you through the application process and eligibility criteria. The Export Delaware team will answer your questions and help you navigate the grant with confidence. Don’t miss the opportunity to chart your course toward obtaining the funding you need to expand around the globe!

Register Here

About the Compass Grant

Delaware small businesses may apply for a Compass Grant to support international travel or business development activities. This grant will have greater flexibility than previous programs. Compass grant funds can be used to reimburse up to 50 percent of all pre-approved, eligible, international marketing expenses, up to a maximum of $10,000 per fiscal year, per company.

This grant funding may be used to support international marketing efforts such as:

• Booth fees for exhibiting at a tradeshow overseas
• Travel expenses (hotel and airfare) for visiting potential clients or distributors in another country
• Fees to work with the US Commercial Service on International Partner Search
• Fees associated with obtaining your CE Mark
• Expenses for translating your product marketing material into another language
• Expenses for optimizing and localizing your website for a foreign market
• And much more ….

Who Should Attend

This webinar is appropriate for:

• Any manufacturer or professional services provider interested in learning more about increasing their sales to other countries.
• Current exporters looking for additional funding to increase their sales.

If you’re not sure if you qualify, join us on the webinar to find out! You’ll have the opportunity to ask questions specific to your company.

Register Here

About our Speaker

Beth Pomper
Director, International Business Development
Export Delaware

Beth Pomper is an international marketing and sales professional with 30 years of progressive leadership experience in support of global business activities. She is responsible for the Strategic Export Plan for the State of Delaware and has worked to implement it since 2014. Beth has established Delaware’s global representative network, with 12 foreign offices servicing 50 countries. She has assisted nearly 100 Delaware companies launch and expand their export sales, generating over $375 million in business and creating nearly 100 jobs in the state.

About Export Delaware

Export Delaware is an initiative of the Delaware Department of State. We are the State’s official export resource for Delaware’s small and medium-sized businesses. We are consistently ranked among the top state export programs nationally in terms of results for our companies. If you are a new exporter or want to explore new markets, we can help you get started.

Export Delaware assists Delaware companies that seek to export their products and services. Our experienced staff provides on-site guidance to businesses that are looking to explore export opportunities or to expand their current export activities to new markets.

Some of the most successful exporters are innovative small- and medium-sized businesses (which account for 98 percent of U.S. exporters). Businesses that export have faster-growing sales, create more jobs and are less likely to go out of business than non-exporting establishments.

Register Here

Are you looking to sell to the Caribbean? Join Export Delaware for a webinar on November 9, 2023, at 10 AM to learn how to launch, grow, and accelerate your brand in the Caribbean.

REGISTER HERE

On this interactive webinar, Richard Zurba will share practical business applications and opportunities on how to do business in the Caribbean. In this session, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn of opportunities for your product or service.

The Northeast States are organizing a business trip to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic in February 2024. Attend this webinar to learn if your business will be a good fit to participate on the trip.

This workshop is ideal for US businesses eager to expand into the Caribbean or grow their business through exporting.

Why The Caribbean?
The US has a strong commercial and cultural affinity with many of the Caribbean nations, especially Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. The stable democracy and large English-speaking market reduce barriers for US small businesses to enter and succeed long-term.

Leading sectors of growth include manufacturing, chemicals, tourism, agriculture, financial services, ITC, renewable energy, and safety and security equipment.

About Our Speaker:
Richard is the founder and director Zurcom International, a business consultancy organization with staff and offices across the Caribbean and Africa. Zurcom International will be working with the northeast states to implement business appointments specific to your company in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. With over twenty years of experience with export promotion, Richard and his team have managed and supervised over 100 international business trips.

About the Business Trip:
Meeting face-to-face with prospective customers is critical to establishing new business relationships around the world. Let us help you make the right contacts overseas and achieve new international sales!

We are organizing a business trip to Jamacia and the Dominican Republic to meet new customers and potential partners. Participate in business appointments in either Jamaica, the DR, or both markets. The trip will take place February 5-9, 2024. This opportunity is open to small businesses in the northeast states (ME, NH, VT, NY, MA, RI, CT, NJ, PA, DE).

REGISTER HERE

About Export Delaware

Export Delaware is an initiative of the Delaware Department of State. We are the State’s official export resource for Delaware’s small and medium-sized businesses. We are consistently ranked among the top state export programs nationally in terms of results for our companies. If you are a new exporter or want to explore new markets, we can help you get started.

Export Delaware assists Delaware companies that seek to export their products and services. Our experienced staff provides on-site guidance to businesses that are looking to explore export opportunities or to expand their current export activities to new markets.

Some of the most successful exporters are innovative small- and medium-sized businesses (which account for 98 percent of U.S. exporters). Businesses that export have faster-growing sales, create more jobs and are less likely to go out of business than non-exporting establishments.

Contact

Emma Pautler
Export Delaware
Delaware Department of State
Website: https://export.delaware.gov/
Email: export@delaware.gov

Wilmington, Del.— The World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia and Export Delaware announce, “Selling to the World, Growing a Vibrant, Inclusive, and Connected Economy for Greater Philadelphia” a program to expand small business exports that feature a new Global Supplier Diversity Initiative to support minority- and women-owned businesses. For the first time, minority- and women-owned enterprises (MWBE) will have unparalleled access to international partners and customers as they enter global supply chains.

The First Program of its Kind 

This program is carefully crafted to include Global Supplier Diversity Directors from Fortune 500 companies and business leaders as mentors. According to the US Census Bureau, 18 percent of US businesses are minority-owned (about 1 million businesses). Nearly 20 percent (1.1 million) are women-owned. Many of these companies apply to be certified as minority- or women-owned businesses. This designation offers numerous benefits; however, many small businesses don’t know how to leverage their certification to increase their sales overseas. This is about to change for those in the Delaware and Greater Philadelphia region.

The facts are compelling and demonstrate that there is much room to grow. According to the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), minority-owned businesses represent 17.5 percent of exporting companies in the US and have a strong competitive advantage in conducting business internationally due to cultural affinities, multi-lingual skills, and close ties to countries of origin. The US Census reports that women-owned businesses represent 12.1 percent of US exporters. Compared with non-exporting companies, MWBEs have higher productivity and hire more employees than their non-exporting counterparts.

“MWBEs have great potential but, like many small businesses, are often hesitant and unaware of the assistance available to help them export,” said Linda Conlin, President of the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia. “We are proud to work with Beth and Export Delaware to increase growth and prosperity in our communities by helping these companies access new customers in promising markets around the world.”

“Selling to the World,” with its new Global Supplier Diversity Initiative, provides export education, training, and mentorship from experts in the field of exporting and global supplier diversity so these MWBEs can compete in the global marketplace. This unique approach will help businesses increase their sales through exports.

Exports Are a Profitable, Long-term Business Strategy

With over 95 percent of the world’s consumers living outside of the US, exporting has proven to be a profitable and sustainable long-term strategy for small businesses. “Now, Delaware WMBEs will gain unparalleled access and opportunity to global supply chains of multinational firms,” said Beth Pomper, Export Trade Director of Export Delaware. “We are delighted to partner with Linda and her team at the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia on this ground-breaking initiative.”

Ecommerce, global supply chains, free trade agreements, and export funding assistance have helped make the world’s global customers more accessible. According to the International Trade Administration, companies that export have a better chance of “riding out” fluctuations in the US economy, as they are sustained by demand from customers worldwide. By offering this new Global Supplier Diversity Initiative, minority- and women-owned businesses in Delaware and the Greater Philadelphia region will be equipped to grow and flourish in the coming decades.

“Our goal for this program is to enable minority- and women-owned businesses to be able to enjoy these benefits, so they can continue to grow, expand and create more local jobs,” said Pomper.

This program is designed to directly support minority- and women-owned businesses in Delaware and the Greater Philadelphia region. However, all eligible businesses are welcome to apply, not just those that women and minorities own.

This program is funded by a grant from the US Economic Development Administration, a cooperative agreement with the Small Business Administration (SBA) via the State Trade Export Program (STEP) Grant, and the private sector.

Interested companies in Delaware should contact Beth Pomper at Export Delaware: beth.pomper@delaware.gov. Those in Pennsylvania and New Jersey should contact Dino Ramos at the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia: dramos@wtcphila.org.

Export Delaware is an initiative of the Delaware Department of State and the official export resource for Delaware’s small businesses wanting to export their products and services worldwide. To learn more about Export Delaware, click here.

Export Delaware, the State’s official export resource for Delaware’s small and medium-sized businesses, is now accepting State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) Grant applications from qualified businesses. STEP Grants offer eligible Delaware businesses assistance to help launch or expand export activity. Grant funds can be used to reimburse Delaware businesses for up to 50 percent of all pre-approved, eligible, export marketing expenses, up to a maximum of $7,000 per fiscal year, per company. Funds now can be used on several marketing/sales initiatives without ever leaving Delaware.

“The global marketplace holds real promise for Delaware companies, and their success in pursuing opportunities abroad will be one of the key factors in our state’s ability to thrive in the 21st century economy,” said Delaware Secretary of State Jeff Bullock. “Businesses around the world have an appetite for U.S. products, especially those from the manufacturing, bioscience and technology industries, where Delaware’s small businesses excel.”

Eligible, export marketing expenses include international business travel, website translation and global optimization, design of international marketing material, export education and training, CE Mark and compliance testing, translation of product information/user manuals, and exhibiting at international trade shows to name a few.

In its history, the STEP Grant Program has supported 96 Delaware small businesses with over $1 million in grant funds. As a result of the activity, the participants have achieved $148 million in export sales and 52 Delaware jobs have been created.

“We encourage Delaware small businesses to take advantage of the STEP Grant Program to help offset the costs of their export marketing efforts,” said Export Trade Director Beth Pomper. “Export Delaware programming does all the heavy lifting for you. We identify potential customers and distributors for our Delaware companies and organize business meetings for you to meet clients overseas in their markets. These grants make international travel affordable. If you meet with a potential customer who goes on to generate $1 million in business for your organization, it’s clearly worth the investment.”

Delaware small businesses who have been in business longer than one year and have an export plan are encouraged to apply. Interested applicants are encouraged to download the application here and apply now. Contact the Export Delaware team with any questions at 302-577-8464 or via email at export@delaware.gov.