Deputy Mayor Steel, Speaker Quinn, Commissioner Walsh and Chairman
Hochberg Announce Partnership to Help City's Small Businesses
Increase Export Sales
Partnership With Ex-Im Bank Will Help New York City
Businesses Gain Competitive Edge in Global Economy
NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Deputy
Mayor Robert K. Steel, Speaker
Christine C. Quinn, Small Business
Services Commissioner Robert W.
Walsh, and Chairman Fred P.
Hochberg announced today that New
York City small businesses will be able to more easily
access the resources they need to increase export sales, thanks to
a new partnership between the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) and the New
York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS). The
announcement took place at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during a
roundtable conversation with manufacturing businesses in
New York City involved in
exporting. SBS is the Bank's most recent City-State Partner, which
will help NYC Business Solutions expand its financial assistance
services to businesses interested in starting or growing export
sales.
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"With this exciting new partnership, the City's Small Business
Solutions Centers will add a new tool to their toolkit – helping to
connect New York businesses to the
suite of products and services offered by the Ex-Im Bank," Deputy
Mayor Steel said. "So in addition to being able to get help
formulating a business plan, accessing capital and hiring talented
New Yorkers, small businesses will be able to get a leg up in
selling more of their products overseas, which means more and more
jobs in all five boroughs here at home."
"This partnership capitalizes on the Department of Small
Business Services' experience in helping small businesses grow and
the Ex-Im Bank's expertise in helping businesses tap into new
markets for their goods and services," said City Council Speaker
Christine C. Quinn. "This
collaboration not only gives local businesses the ability to grow
their bottom lines, it can help a baker in Woodside sell bagels in
Japan or a designer in Bedford
Stuyvesant sell their jewelry in Ireland. I thank Deputy Mayor Steel,
Commissioner Walsh and Chairman Hochberg for joining forces on this
important initiative and for their continued dedication to helping
grow our city's small businesses."
"Last year, NYC Business Solutions helped connect small
businesses to nearly $39 million in
capital, and partnering with Ex-Im Bank will help us go even
further," said Rob Walsh,
Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. "We
will now be able to assist businesses who want to expand beyond the
five boroughs and export their NYC-made goods and services
globally."
"Exports create and save U.S jobs, and I am delighted that Ex-Im
Bank will be working with the New York City Department of Small
Business Services," said Fred P.
Hochberg, chairman and president of Ex-Im Bank. "This
partnership gives New York City
exporters the competitive edge they need to access global
markets."
"Essential to the economic development of New York City is the expansion of
our capacity to export," said Council Member Diana Reyna,
Chair of the Committee on Small Business. "A partnership
between the Ex-Im Bank and the City's Business Solutions Centers
combines two excellent resources for manufacturers. With this
synthesis of federal and municipal resources, City manufacturers
will have a unique competitive edge in making and selling products
with the 'Made in NYC' seal."
"This partnership reflects a new wave of economic development
that embraces a critical insight of urban economist Jane Jacobs: 'The economic foundation of cities
is trade.' Given New York's strong global position, economic base,
and demographic diversity, increasing exports is a way to grow jobs
in here in the short term and restructure this region's economy for
the long haul," said Bruce Katz,
vice president and director for the Metropolitan Policy Program of
the Brookings Institution.
"The creative financing initiative announced today is a great
example of how New York City is
continuously coming up with ideas for tapping new resources to fuel
economic growth and diversify our economy," stated Kathryn Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership
for New York City.
"Public sector commitments – including enormous support from the
City and increasing support from the State and federal governments
-- has leveraged more than half a billion dollars in private
investment at the Navy Yard, including a growing number of
exporters," said Andrew
Kimball, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Navy Yard
Development Corporation. "The partnership with Ex-Im Bank provides
the opportunity for greater growth of small, industrial businesses
at the Yard."
Ex-Im Bank's City-State Partners
bring state, county, and local non-profit economic development
entities together with Ex-Im Bank to expand export opportunities
for American small-and mid-size exporters.
The seven NYC Business Solutions Centers are in all five
boroughs and provide free services including financing assistance,
business courses, legal assistance, navigating government,
incentives, recruiting, training employees, and certification. So
far this year, NYC Business Solutions centers have provided more
than 6,300 free services to over 4,200 businesses.
By collaborating with Ex-Im Bank, New
York City is actively helping exporters increase export
sales and advising small businesses about the potential to grow
through exporting. NYC Business Solutions staff has been trained on
how to identify businesses in New York
City that could benefit from exporting and how to best
connect businesses looking for assistance.
In FY 2012, Ex-Im Bank authorized more than $280 million in export financing to New York businesses that export. This figure
included more than $125 million in
small-business authorizations.
Since January 2011, Ex-Im Bank has
expanded its outreach to small businesses through the Global Access
for Small Business program. Global Access is supported by a wide
variety of business and financial and government partners,
including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of
Manufacturers (NAM), and the Bank's 60-plus city/state partners
located throughout the U.S. Since first launching, Ex-Im Bank has
held more than 40 Global Access forums around the country.
About the NYC Department of Small Business Services
The NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS) makes it easier
for businesses in New York City to
start, operate, and expand by providing direct assistance to
business owners, fostering neighborhood development in commercial
districts, and linking employers to a skilled and qualified
workforce. For more information on all of SBS' services go to
nyc.gov.
About Ex-Im Bank
Ex-Im
Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and
maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at
no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years (from Fiscal
Year 2008), Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly
$1.6 billion above the cost of
operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms,
including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and
financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and
services.
Ex-Im Bank approved $35.8 billion in total authorizations in FY 2012
– an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than
$6.1 billion directly supporting
small-business export sales – also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank's total authorizations are supporting an
estimated $50 billion in U.S. export
sales and approximately 255,000 American jobs in communities across
the country. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.
SOURCE Export-Import Bank of the
United States