The New Jersey Office of Export Promotion has been awarded $900,000 in federal funds for a program that supports small-business owners looking to export goods.

New Jersey Secretary of State, Tahesha Way, announced that the state received a $900,000 award, the largest in the program’s history, from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) through the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP). The state’s successful New Jersey STEP (NJSTEP) program has been awarded funding for seven consecutive years.

The program has 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,” said New Jersey Business Action Center Executive Director Melanie Willoughby.

Consistent with previous years, 100 percent of the NJ STEP 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 NJ STEP 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 the organization’s website at https://www.nj.gov/state/bac/bac-njstep.shtml.

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