Empowering Women SMEs for Global Success

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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are at the heart of the global economy, representing over 90% of businesses employing up to 70% of the workforce, and driving half of the world's GDP.

Despite their critical role, they face a staggering $5.7 trillion financing gap globally, which increases to $8 trillion when including informal businesses.

In India, for example, 63 million MSMEs contribute 30% of GDP and provide jobs to 110 million people.  It is India’s women entrepreneurs who are forging a new path.

Learn what the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is doing to amplify access to credit.

Today in Global Small Business: Christopher Columbus Arrives in the Americas October 12, 1492

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Happy Columbus Day, a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas.
• U.S.-Canada trade opportunities are growing, Canadian official says.
• Quote of the week:  "By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination." – Christopher Columbus
• United States exports by country.
• United States imports by country.
• Which country exported the most stuff to the United States in 2023?

Owning Our Story

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

©2024 Laurel Delaney.  All rights reserved.

“Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.” — Brené Brown, “The Gifts of Imperfection”

Time to Think Big (and Global) American Small Businesses!

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US micro-, small, and medium-size enterprises, like their global counterparts, struggle with productivity. But a win–win economic fabric connecting all businesses can maximize their potential.

At a glance: 

• Micro-, small, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) are the bedrock of the US economy. 
• MSMEs in the United States are only half as productive as large companies, compared with 60 percent in other advanced economies. 
• MSME performance varies across US states and metro areas. 
• Interactions between small and large businesses are key to boosting collective productivity. 

Read the entire report by McKinsey Global Institute, October, 2024.

Obstacles to SME Participation in Global Trade

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A key finding in this section of a very robust report is that all types of trade costs, whether they are fixed or variable, adversely affect the ability of SMEs to participate in trade, to a greater extent than large enterprises.

Since SMEs are more sensitive to trade barriers than large firms, removing obstacles to trade benefits SMEs disproportionately. It is therefore important to understand what these major obstacles are.  You can find out here.

Get Your STEP Grants Businesses!

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Small businesses looking to start or expand their global customer reach can use resources offered by state entities that have received STEP funding.  Check out yours here. 

The State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grants are specifically for established U.S. small businesses seeking to complete one of the following eligible activities:

• Participate in trade missions
• Subscribe to services provided by US Department of Commerce
• Translation fees
• Design of market media
• Tradeshow exhibitions
• Participate in export training workshops
• Reverse trade missions
• Procurement of consultancy services
• Other export initiatives as approved by Associate Administrator at SBA

If you are an established company, please contact your appropriate state/territory representative to learn more about how to apply for STEP funds.

3 Mega-Trends Expected to Impact Our Future

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A new globalization report discusses three mega-trends expected to impact our future.  Globalization has impacted people and communities across the globe and has significantly influenced sustainable development. 

Fueled by fast-paced changes in technology and the increased mobility of goods, services, capital and labour, over the past decades globalization has greatly changed economies, societies and the natural environment and has made our world more interconnected than ever before.

Discover the 3 mega-trends expected to impact our future relative to globalization.

Today in Global Small Business: Tesla Exports Its 1 Millionth Vehicle From China

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Via X, Tesla has confirmed that it recently exported its 1 millionth car from Tesla Gigafactory, Shanghai. That’s a massive number of vehicles from a factory that only opened in December 2019.
• How three ecommerce marketplace sellers accelerate growth.
• Quote of the week: “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Bridge the AI gap – wegginar® recording.
• Meta announces an AI translation tool that could change the way you watch Instagram and Facebook Reels forever.
• Visa, Mastercard and big banks bet on global payments tech.

Your Voice Is Your Power: VOTE

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Your vote is your voice, and your voice is your power. Don't let anyone take away your power. Now is the time to stand up. Now is the time to speak out. And now is the time to VOTE." – Kamala Harris

AccuRadio: Broadway Tunes

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Check out Broadway show tunes from the 1950s to the present at AccuRadio. The selections feature your favorite Broadway songs by legendary performers and today’s stars.  Chill.  For the world to enjoy. Many of the songs are curated by Bob Marovich (e.g., 2020s Broadway).

Code name: Strawberry

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OpenAI announced a new advance from GPT-4 that signals a shift in approach—a model that can “reason” logically through many difficult problems and is significantly smarter than existing AI without a major scale-up.

The new model, dubbed OpenAI o1, can solve problems that stump existing AI models, including OpenAI’s most powerful existing model, GPT-4o. Rather than summon up an answer in one step, as a large language model normally does, it reasons through the problem, effectively thinking out loud as a person might, before arriving at the right result. 

Code name:  Strawberry.

Empowering NY's Small Businesses to Compete in the Global Marketplace

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WOW, lots happening in New York for small businesses interested in competing in the global marketplace!  The Empire State Development (ESD) recently announced an expansion of Global NY's international presence, growing from 9 to 15 markets, with OCO Global hired to manage these offices.

This expansion includes new representation in Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Taiwan. Beginning October 1, 2024, companies will be able to submit Export Marketing Assistance Service (EMAS) applications to any Global NY location. Information about the EMAS can be found here. Global NY was also awarded $900,000 in federal funding for STEP Round 12 to help connect New York businesses to exporting opportunities abroad. 

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “By expanding Global NY's international offices and securing federal STEP funding, we are reinforcing our commitment to empower New York's small businesses to compete in the global marketplace into key markets. These strategic initiatives provide our businesses with resources and opportunities to export their products and services worldwide, fostering growth and job creation across the state.”

Now this is good news!  Go New Yorkers – all the small businesses who struggle to go global can now get the assistance they need!