United States SBA STEP Program Awards New Jersey $900,000 to Increase Export Sales for Small Businesses

 

TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Office of Export Promotion has been awarded $900,000 in federal funds to help New Jersey’s small businesses interested in selling their goods and services to other countries through export.

New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way today announced that the state received a $900,000 award, the largest in the program’s history, from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) State Trade Expansion Program (STEP). The State’s successful New Jersey STEP (NJSTEP) program has been awarded funding for seven consecutive years and has advised and assisted hundreds of businesses leading to millions of dollars in export sales around the world.

“New Jersey’s diverse small business community is the foundation of the Garden State’s economy,” said Secretary Way. “The SBA award will help those small businesses reach markets around the world and in turn contribute to their growth in communities across the state.”

“The SBA award, the largest the state has ever received, will help New Jersey’s small businesses take part in trade shows and other events that may have been cost prohibitive,” New Jersey Business Action Center Executive Director Melanie Willoughby said. 

Consistent with previous years, 100 percent of the NJSTEP program funds will be awarded to eligible small businesses to help offset costs related to participation in foreign trade missions, international trade shows and exhibitions, website and collateral translations, and services provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Commercial Service.  Grants are awarded to eligible companies on a first-come, first-serve competitive basis over a two-year period beginning Sept. 30, 2019 to Sept. 29, 2021.

The NJSTEP is administered by the New Jersey Business Action Center’s (NJBAC) Office of Export Promotion, both housed within the New Jersey Department of State. To apply for the NJSTEP program, visit our website at https://www.nj.gov/state/bac/bac-njstep.shtml.

For more information on how the New Jersey Business Action Center helps companies of all sizes save time and money by getting answers from government agencies, directing businesses to appropriate officials and contacts, and facilitating meetings and follow-ups from regulatory agencies, call 1-800-JERSEY-7 or visit https://www.state.nj.us/state/bac/bac-about.shtml.