As the Coastal Bend grows its entrepreneurship base, the Innovation Center is always seeking ways to bring value to the region through collaboration. With this goal in mind, the Center recently hosted a seminar on exporting by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Commercial Service.

The seminar brought to light little known facts about exporting, such as 98% of American companies that export are small businesses; however, these companies face challenges when it comes to financing and managing their export business.

This information lead to the development of the seminar titled “Meeting the Challenges and Seizing the Opportunities in Exporting.” During the seminar, several speakers covered topics like “Opening Doors to Global Markets/TPP,” “ Export Financing Programs,” and “Export Documentation and Logistics.”

One of the speakers was Yolanda Garcia Olivarez, a Regional Administrator of the SBA. She is an August 2009 appointee of President Barack Obama and former SBA Administrator Karen Mills; her topic focused on opportunities for small business exporters and how to get into the global market.

According to tamucc.edu’s article, “Coastal Bend Business Innovation Center Hosts Exporting Summit,” “The SBA was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, and assist and protect the interests of small businesses. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses and delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S.Virgin Islands and Guam.”

Olivarez currently leads the deliver of SBA’s financial, entrepreneurial development, government contracting and international export initiatives in assisting more than 3.3 million small businesses in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Before the seminar on exporting began, Dr. Flavius Killebrew, President of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi gave a few words of welcome to the audience. In attendance were representatives from the SBA, U.S. Commercial Service, Penn International Insurance, Del Mar College Small Business Development Center, and UPS.