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MBN USA

March 03, 2023

Eight Black business owners recently graduated from the ExporTech™ program, a collaboration with the National Business League

(Detroit, MI)– The U.S. Commercial Service today announced the graduation of eight Black-owned businesses from a national pilot ExporTech™ program in collaboration with the National Business League.

The national ExporTech™ pilot was designed to deliver a fully online format to accommodate the export needs of small businesses from underserved and underrepresented communities in Michigan and across the country that are interested in expanding global sales for their organizations. Eight Black-owned small businesses from five states - all members of the National Business League – graduated from the program in early December.

The 11-week program combined six half-day sessions with individualized coaching, as participants learned about doing business globally and developed export growth plans. It also connected companies with export resources from the federal government, state trade offices, and private sector in order to help them navigate the export sales process. The highlight of the program featured company executives presenting their strategic export growth plans to a panel of experts for crucial feedback. The result is that companies rapidly gain the knowledge to expand global sales. Following this successful pilot, the goal is to offer an annual ExporTech™ program designed specifically to meet the export needs of small businesses in underserved and underrepresented communities across the country.

“We are excited to have expanded the reach of the ExporTech™ program to meet the export assistance needs of a broader and more diverse pool of U.S. businesses, including Black-owned businesses,” said Terri Batch, Director of the U.S. Commercial Service Global Diversity Export Initiative. “The U.S. Commercial Service’s Global Diversity Export Initiative is committed to supporting U.S. companies in underserved and underrepresented communities and to providing them with the tools necessary for international expansion. Collaborating with organizations like the National Business League helps us to transform that commitment into specific programs and activities like this pilot.”

“As U.S. Black-owned businesses continue to expand in producing American-made products, goods, commodities and services, a concerted effort is now being made to connect these firms with commerce-driven opportunities on the continent of Africa and throughout the Caribbean and Pan-African diaspora,” said Dr. Ken L. Harris, President and CEO of the National Business League. “It is unique programs like ExporTech™ through the U.S. Commercial Service’s Global Diversity Export Initiative that position U.S. Black-owned businesses to have a competitive advantage exporting within the global marketplace.”

Launched in 2007 via a partnership between the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the U.S. Commercial Service, ExporTech™ is a national export assistance program that helps companies enter or expand in global markets. Over 1,280 companies have successfully completed the ExporTech™ program nationwide. Since 2007, total program impact has been over $600 million in increased or retained sales.

National ExporTech™ Pilot graduates include:

Complete Image Manufacturing (MI)
Cyber Alliance (NC)
Optimal Business Systems/OBS (MI)
Ovamba Solutions, Inc. (MD)
Rolling Out (GA)
Ryan Industries and Alliance Industries (MI, MO)
SGRX, Inc. (MI)
Simontic Composites Inc. (NC)

About the International Trade Administration’s U.S. Commercial Service
The U.S. Commercial Service is the trade promotion arm of the International Trade Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Its network includes 100+ offices across the U.S. and in American embassies and consulates in more than 75 international markets. Whether you’re looking to make your first export sale or expand to additional markets, we offer the expertise you need to connect with business opportunities worldwide. For more information, visit www.trade.gov or contact your local U.S. Commercial Service Office at https://www.trade.gov/commercial-services-offices-us.

About the National Business League
The National Business League was founded on August 23, 1900, by Booker T. Washington and is the first and largest nonprofit, nonpartisan and nonsectarian Black business and professional trade association in the country. It has 120,000 members nationwide and 125 Fortune 500 corporate partners, with regional offices in Atlanta, GA, Detroit, MI, Los Angeles, CA, and Washington, DC, as well as city league chapters throughout all 50 states and internationally. The organization provides access to 3.2 million Black businesses throughout the United States.