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Kansas Department of Commerce awarded grant from U.S. Small Business Administration

The state’s International Division of the commerce department has received a $127,400 grant through the State Trade Expansion Program to be used in the department’s mission to support export growth among small businesses in Kansas and to provide increased information and resources.

On Monday, announcement of the Kansas Department of Commerce’s International Division grant award was released, the grant provided by program under the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

The division of the state’s commerce department received $127,400 through the SBA’s State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), which will allow the division to further assist small businesses.

Kansas aims to use the funding to help small businesses through an increased spread of vital information and making available other resources to succeed in export-related activities, according to a Monday news release from the governor’s office.

A few resources for small businesses would include foreign trade missions and foreign market sales trips, obtaining services provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce and participating in training workshops.

“International business is a major economic driver for Kansas, and the work done by the Department of Commerce has created a significant advantage for our state in markets across the world,” Kelly said in the release. “I’m very pleased that the Small Business Administration has awarded our state this grant, which will support our ongoing efforts to recruit new businesses and bring good paying jobs to Kansas.”

The STEP program is now in its tenth year and is designed to help small businesses in part by increasing the number of small businesses that export, the value of their exports and the number of small businesses that explore significant new trade opportunities.

Grants awarded through the program are managed and provided at the local level by state government organizations, the release said, although STEP is managed at the national level by the SBA’s Office of International Trade.