Funded in part through a grant with the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The World Trade Center Arkansas secures funding for Arkansas companies through the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) Grant provided by the United States Small Business Administration. We then award it to eligible Arkansas small businesses to fund export initiatives such as trade shows and exhibitions, inbound and outbound trade missions, consulting, website translations, marketing media, and other export initiatives. The testimonials below illustrate the effectiveness of the STEP Grant. For more information on applying for funds, contact Trish Watkins, our STEP Grant director.
Todd Maines | ZÜM Toyz
“The World Trade Center Arkansas and the SBA STEP grant have been fantastic resource partners and a catalyst to begin and now expand substantial growth on our international exports. Without the STEP grant, we would have never started exporting in the first place. Now, we are increasing our sales even more by expanding our exports to additional countries. We are extremely appreciative of all of it!”
ZÜM Toyz | Small Business All-Star
ZÜM Toyz was also honored this year as a small business All-Star for its proficiency in expanding digital business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Melvin Torres, director of Western Hemisphere trade at the World Trade Center Arkansas, moderated the panel where ZÜM Toyz was the featured company.
Gina Radke | Galley Support Innovations
“Utilizing the STEP funds, GSI has been able to attract new international customers from countries such as Canada, Brazil and Switzerland. It was a trip to EBACE made possible by STEP funds that opened GSI up to the VVIP aircraft market, increasing our domestic and international sales.” Gina Radke. President and CEO, Galley Support Innovations
Iliana Sutton | Aha! Interpreting Solutions
“My team set themselves up with goals to hit the floor running and to not stop until we reached our goal. That is exactly what we did within 24 hours of my team arriving in a country that we had never been to and with no business contacts we successfully exported Professional face to face language services.”
William Burgess | Power Technology, Inc.
“In 2016, we introduced our new Cinema laser products into Europe. The STEP grant helped us attend the largest Cinema show in Europe by offsetting our cost significantly. Since then, we have gotten a lot more traction with our European customers. ” William Burgess. VP of Operations, Power Technology, Inc.