Commerce Dept. & Goldman Sachs Look To Help Small Businesses Export Their Products

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The U.S. Department of Commerce and Goldman Sachs are teaming up to help small business owners export their products.

Goldman Sachs on Friday announced a new partnership with the Department of Commerce to help small businesses get the resources they need to sell their products and services in international markets.

The announcement was made at Morgan State University. U.S Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo was among the attendees.

"We started two weeks ago advertising this, and over 1,000 small businesses have expressed interest," Raimondo said.

The program is being facilitated through Goldmach Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses program, which helps small businesses become successful.

Funlayo Alabi, the owner of Howard County-based skincare company Shea Radiance, is a graduate of the program.

"A lot of small businesses within the United States sometimes don't realize the world is actually looking for what you have," Alabi said.

Now she's looking to export her products to different countries. She's already taken a class from the U.S. Trade Office in Maryland.

"Some of the biggest challenges in expanding internationally is not knowing what the U.S. government support is," Alabi said.

She said this type of partnership with the federal government will be beneficial for everyone involved.

"It's going to be good for the United States to increase their exports and small businesses are the backbone of this country," Alabi said. "There is a lot of opportunity for us to grow."