08.24.15

Hoeven Announces More Than $285,000 SBA Grant to North Dakota Trade Office to Help North Dakota Small Businesses

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has awarded $287,694 to the North Dakota Trade Office through the SBA’s State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Program. Among other things, the funds will be used to help eligible small businesses participate in international trade and gain access to Big Iron’s International Visitor Program, ExporTech training and market research.

“North Dakota is a fast-growing exporter, with a 42 percent increase in exports from 2013 to 2014 alone,” Hoeven said. “This dramatic increase in exports has helped fuel our state’s economic growth, which outpaced all other states’ last year. Today’s STEP funds will help North Dakota small businesses continue to be leaders in export and economic growth.”

Hoeven was instrumental in starting the North Dakota Trade Office in 2005 during his term as governor, and the state has since enjoyed robust growth in trade over the past decade. North Dakota exports totaled more than $5.3 billion in 2014, an increase of more than $4 billion since 2004, with nearly 1 in 5 North Dakotans employed in jobs supported by trade. Almost 1,900 companies exported goods from North Dakota in 2013, 83 percent of which had fewer than 500 employees.

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