The state of Maryland announced that its Department of Commerce has received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration to broaden the state’s international reach and help companies create jobs and access new foreign markets.
The funding is the highest single award that the department has ever received through the State Trade Expansion Program, which supports participation in overseas trade shows in targeted industry sectors and funds the state’s ExportMD program.
During the first half of the year, the Department of Commerce assisted four dozen businesses across the state through the ExportMD program, which provides matching grants of up to $5,000 to help local companies market their goods and services to global customers. The program’s success is greatly attributed to the SBA program, allowing the department to quadruple the number of companies it has funded annually over the past decade.
The next application deadline for the ExportMD program is Nov. 1.
Maryland has 19 foreign trade offices, including in Durban, South Africa; Singapore, Malaysia; Sydney, Australia; São Paulo, Brazil; Montreal, Canada; Santiago, Chile; Shanghai, China; Bogot, Colombia; Delhi, India; Tel Aviv, Israel; Tokyo, Japan; Seoul, South Korea; Mexico City, Mexico, Lima, Peru; Taipei, Taiwan; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Manchester, England; Heidelberg, Germany; and Paris, France.
ExportMD grant recipients for 2023 to date include:
Anne Arundel County
Atomic Biometrics
Contiem Inc.
Patriot Group
Pugh & Tiller
Howard County
Ardent Security
Shea Radiance
Prince George’s County
Airgility
Broadband Connect
Dynamic Green Radiance
Era Wine Bar
Kinetic Solutions
Upliftology