The U.S. Small Business Administration has awarded a $349,000 State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant to the Maryland Department of Commerce.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the federal State Trade Expansion Program. Over the past decade, Maryland Commerce has received more than $4.5 million from the SBA program, and as a result, awarded hundreds of small and mid-sized businesses from all regions of the state with ExportMD grants, including 24 over the past six months. Eligibility requirements can be found on the Commerce website.

With travel restrictions in place, the ExportMD program expanded to cover additional eligible expenses for non-travel activities, including increased coverage for compliance testing, shipping sample products, and website translation into foreign languages, in hopes of making the program more flexible and attainable for local businesses.

“We are very grateful to have the support of the U.S. Small Business Administration in keeping Maryland businesses competitive and thriving,” said Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly M. Schulz. “We are working to provide as many resources as possible for our local businesses, and we hope our new program changes, as well as web and virtual features, help them continue growing in markets across the globe.”

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