STEP grant now available

Hello, Montana exporters!  The Montana Department of Commerce’s ExportMontana program competed to receive nearly $500,000 in Federal grant funds from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) to help companies with funding their global market expansion. We’ve learned Montana has won this competitive grant!

Will any of these work for you?  Let us know!

Cooperative Marketing Opportunities

We organize these events and pay for most of the expenses.  Are you interested in any of these?  Respond to this email and we’ll make sure you get the invitation.

• Montana Pavilion at Milipol, Paris, France, November 6-9, 2019: for security and defense companies who sell to law enforcement and military. 
• Montana Pavilion at BuildEx, Vancouver, Canada, February 12-13, 2020: for building and construction products and services. 
• Montana Pavilion at IWA Outdoor, Nuremberg, Germany, March 6-9, 2020: for guns/ammo and other outdoor products.
• Montana Pavilion at EWF, Munich Germany, March 28-29, 2020: a consumer show for fly-fishing products.
• Sales Mission to Africa, April 2020 (tentative), for companies who are interested in finding sales partners in Africa.  We will work with a private contractor to set up customized mission itineraries for each participant. 

Grants

You pick what you want to do to expand your exports, and we reimburse 50%.  Here are the activities we can fund:

1. International Trade Show Exhibition – up to $10,000 reimbursement + up to $2,000 travel stipend
2. Language Translation Services & Production Fees – up to $3,000 reimbursement
3. U.S. Commercial Service Programs – up to $5,000 reimbursement + up to $2,000 travel stipend; here are the activities it can fund:
   • Initial Market Check: initial assessment of the market potential
   • International Company Profile: background check on a foreign company
   • International Partner Search: introductions to potential international reps, distributors, etc.
   • Gold Key Matching Service: in-country meetings with potential international reps, distributors, etc.
4. International Compliance Testing – up to $3,000 reimbursement
5. Montana Online Global Program – up to $3,000 reimbursement
6. International Travel Stipend – up to $2,000 reimbursement

Ready to apply?  Click on any of the links above to get to the application.

Technical Assistance

Don’t know where to start for exporting?  Have a technical question?  We have staff available to consult with you on any issues you’re experiencing.

We look forward to working with you on your international expansion in 2019-2020!