OPIC Announces 2013 Small Business Outreach Events

Popular Expanding Horizons program of workshops and seminars to be held in six states

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Increasing U.S. small business investment in lucrative emerging markets – expected to enjoy an even better 2013 than originally forecast – is the goal of the Expanding Horizons schedule announced today by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution.

“Given the increasingly diverse growth in world demand, small businesses adept enough to navigate products and services in an export market face a number of unique advantages over those focusing solely on the domestic market.”

Cleveland, Charleston, Ft. Worth, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and San Jose were chosen for OPIC’s highly-successful outreach series, which to date has educated more than 2100 small- and medium-sized business owners across the United States about OPIC products and services.

“Emerging markets represent the future of the world’s economic growth, as their middle classes grow and consumer needs expand. Enabling U.S. small businesses – the essential engine of the American economy – to take advantage of their lucrative potential is the goal of OPIC’s Expanding Horizons schedule,” said OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield. “This program has already proven hugely successful, connecting American entrepreneurs and technology to the best of these opportunities through OPIC support. We expect 2013 to be Expanding Horizons’ best year yet.”

Investment opportunities abound for U.S. small businesses looking to expand into emerging markets. A recent report by an affiliate of TD Bank concluded that, “Given the increasingly diverse growth in world demand, small businesses adept enough to navigate products and services in an export market face a number of unique advantages over those focusing solely on the domestic market.” A new report by the Institute of International Finance (IIF) expects investors to pump $1.1 trillion into emerging markets in 2013, revising upward IIF’s initial October forecast by $54 billion.

Expanding Horizons workshops and seminars provide attendees with detailed information about the innovative financial tools – among them financing and political risk insurance – that OPIC has used for 42 years to help U.S. businesses successfully invest in emerging markets.

Expanding Horizons workshops are daylong events featuring presentations by OPIC, the U.S. Small Business Administration, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the U.S. Department of Commerce, including the U.S. Commercial Service and the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., as well as one-on-one networking opportunities. Seminars are half-day events undertaken in cooperation with a local partner organization.

The 2013 Expanding Horizons schedule:
Cleveland, OH	March 14	Seminar
		Partner organization/registration:
		MBDA Business Center-Cleveland
Charleston, SC	May 7	Workshop
		Registration: http://www.opicevents.com/
Ft. Worth, TX	June 27	Workshop
		Registration: http://www.opicevents.com/
Salt Lake City, UT	July 10	Seminar
		Partner organization/registration:
		World Trade Center Utah
Minneapolis, MN	October 8	Workshop
		Registration: http://www.opicevents.com/
San Jose, CA	November 13	Workshop
		Registration: http://www.opicevents.com/

OPIC is the U.S. Government’s development finance institution. It mobilizes private capital to help solve critical development challenges and in doing so, advances U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC works with the U.S. private sector, it helps U.S. businesses gain footholds in emerging markets catalyzing revenues, jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad. OPIC achieves its mission by providing investors with financing, guarantees, political risk insurance, and support for private equity investment funds.

Established as an agency of the U.S. Government in 1971, OPIC operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to American taxpayers. OPIC services are available for new and expanding business enterprises in more than 150 countries worldwide. To date, OPIC has supported more than $200 billion of investment in over 4,000 projects, generated an estimated $75 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 277,000 American jobs.