Trade Winds Europe/Eurasia
May 13-15, 2024  | Istanbul

The Trade Winds forum will be held in Istanbul, Türkiye from May 13-15, with optional B2B matchmaking stops in Romania and Italy (May 9-10), Türkiye (May 15) and Denmark, Kazakhstan and Poland (May 16-17). We have begun a waitlist for all new companies registering for the optional matchmaking stops, but space is still available for  Italy and Denmark. The business forum in Istanbul has plenty of space available.

Building Bridges to Global Markets

We continue this successful series in 2024 with new events in a community near you! Building Bridges events address the issues most common to diverse companies seeking international expansion. Join us at our GDEI partners' national events during the year:

First Up! Reservation Economic Summit
March 11-14, 2024  | Las Vegas, NV 
Learn More & Register for RES

Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber Spring Summit: Detroit, MI April 18

U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Legislative Summit: Washington, DC  April 22-24

USPAACC CelebrAsian Conference:  Alpharetta, GA  May 29-31

Building Bridges for Women in Global Trade: Los Angeles, CA June 13

National Black Business Conference: Atlanta, GA  August 22-24

Rural Building Bridges at the Mississippi Delta: Greensville, MS September

National Veteran Matchmaking Conference: Detroit, MI  November 8-9

Unlocking Growth Opportunities for Black-owned Businesses

Join the CS and DHL for a webinar February 22 at 1 p.m. ET, designed specifically for black-owned businesses seeking international expansion. Hear Global Diversity Export Initiative Acting Director Gabriela Zelaya on small business resources and tools, and successful exporter Ricardo Berris from the MI Group. 

Grow your Female-Owned Business Globally!

On International Women's Day February 29, join the U.S. Commercial Service and IBT Online LIVE and learn how to develop exporting strategies perfect for your business. You'll learn more about online marketing and website localization and how to help your international customers buy from you by giving them an online local video marketing experience in their languages and markets.
Join us as we share case studies on how companies are using digital tools to sell online today. This session will include best practices, take-aways, and live Q&A. Can't make it February 29? Join us for a re-broadcast via webinar on March 28. 

AES/ACE Export Compliance Bi-lingual Seminars
March 20-21 & 26-27  | Virtual 

Join the U.S. Commercial Service as we host the U.S. Census Bureau to provide a full day of insights – in English and Spanish – on compliance issues for U.S. exporters. Census experts will review current and future regulations and all the tools available to U.S. companies.

These bi-lingual webinar is open to all U. S. companies and will greatly benefit small and medium sized businesses, freight forwarders, logistics &  documentation, compliance managers, manufacturers, shippers, and U.S. Principal Parties of Interest (USPPI).

Community connections increase access to the tools businesses need to succeed. Thank you to our Black-owned Business Partners!  The Global Diversity Export Initiative is proud to have official strategic partnerships w/ National Black Chamber of Commerce, dedicated to economically empowering and sustaining African American communities through entrepreneurship, capitalistic activity within the United States, and via interaction with the Black Diaspora and The National Business League, founded by Booker T. Washington & a global catalyst toward economic development, empowerment and freedom of black-owned business. Join us at Building Bridges to Global Markets at the National Black Business Conference in August 2024.

Meet Drs. Reiko and Klein Ileleji, who founded Indiana-based JUA Technologies in 2016 to make it possible for smallholder farms and households across the world to dry fresh foods into tasty, shelf-stable, and nutritious food products using solar energy.

The company worked with the U.S. Commercial Service in Indiana, who counseled them on exporting & connected them with the CS in Nairobi, Kenya. The connection and added financing assistance from the U.S. Small Business Administration and Exim Bank made the company its first success. They haven’t looked back since!

“What drives me and my business is a passion for improving the lives of small farmers,” says Klein, who is also a professor of agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue University. “Making our product in the USA and selling it globally is a dream come true - export sales sustain our business and account for 99 percent of overall sales.”