According to a fact sheet put out by the Louisiana Economic Development (LED) organization, “The State Trade and Export Promotion Program (STEP) is a 3-year pilot trade and export initiative authorized by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. It is funded by federal grants and state matching funds. The program is designed to help increase the number of small businesses that are exporting and to raise the value of exports for those small businesses that are currently exporting.”
Louisiana’s STEP Grant is basically a scholorship program that will reimburse a portion of certain export-related expenses, up to as much as nine thousand dollars. This may be useful to seafood businesses looking to expand their operations into foreign markets.
There are some restrictions and qualifications for companies to meet. More information can be obtained by contacting: Bill Fousch, 225-342-6443, fousch@la.gov
Source: State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Program Fact Sheet
