Ex-Im Bank Sets New Record of $500 Million in Export Financing for Minority-Owned and Woman-Owned Businesses
August 3, 2012
(Ex-Im Bank)
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- This fiscal year for the first time, the Export-Import Bank
of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has set an all-time single-year record of more
than $500 million in export financing for minority-owned and woman-owned
businesses in the United States. The Bank’s financing has supported more than
400 transactions and an estimated 7,000 American jobs across the country.
Ex-Im Bank employs a business-development team devoted exclusively to assisting
minority-owned and woman-owned businesses. The team provides resources on how to
access global markets and use Ex-Im’s export financing to break into or expand
export sales.
"In this tough economy, increasing exports is essential for growth and
prosperity. Ex-Im Bank has reached a new height in support of minority-owned and
woman-owned companies, but we need to do more," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and
President Fred P. Hochberg. "Our dedicated staff can assist these firms, many of
which are small businesses, in accessing the financing products to provide them
with the funds to expand and the confidence that they will be paid for foreign
sales."
Success Stories
Maya Williams, president and founder of Morganna's Alchemy, LLC of Port Richey,
Fla., sought the Bank's assistance after learning about export-finance products
from the company’s insurance broker, Meridian Finance Group. Williams met with
Ex-Im Bank staff and the Meridian agent, who moved quickly on a transaction. The
company was approved for a $250,000 Ex-Im Bank small-business multibuyer
export-credit insurance policy to help it offer favorable credit terms to
foreign buyers and expand sales. Williams also learned more about Ex-Im Bank’s
financing products at the Bank’s Global Access for Small Business forum in
Tampa, Fla.
The company is both a minority-owned and a woman-owned small business that
manufactures medicinal and botanical skin care products from plant extracts,
including those formulated to treat many different ethnic skin types. With
exports already comprising 80 percent of total sales, the company was looking to
grow its international business further.
Today, Morganna's Alchemy has 20 wholesalers in five countries. With the Ex-Im
Bank policy, it is now able to offer 60-day payment terms to its foreign
customers. The expected growth from the resulting sales will help the company
expand into a new facility and add three new jobs.
"Ex-Im Bank has provided my company with insurance to grow and do business
overseas with no worries," said Williams.
AR Chem Tex Industries LLC, of Edinburg, Texas, exports chemical-treatment
products and equipment such as soap sticks for gas wells. The company was
seeking to enter new foreign markets but did not have the ability to finance
that expansion. The company's president, Art Lopez, attended an Ex-Im Bank
Global Access forum in Weslaco, Texas, where he learned about Ex-Im Bank's
financing products for small business.
AR Chem Tex received a $500,000 loan from Frost National Bank backed by an Ex-Im
Bank working capital loan guarantee to finance its business expansion. AR Chem
also was approved for a $500,000 small-business multibuyer insurance policy for
the financing and risk protection of its foreign receivables. Both products
helped the company increase sales to Mexico and Venezuela as well as begin
exporting to Argentina and Colombia. As a consequence, the company has hired
five new employees and tripled its overall sales.
"We hadn't expanded into new markets because of limited capital and difficulty
financing our products," said Lopez. "Now that we have financing from Ex-Im
Bank, we are selling in new markets in Latin America."
Ex-Im Bank has seen the majority of its increased authorizations for
minority-owned and woman-owned businesses in the manufacturing and
transportation-industry sectors. Among these businesses, the Bank’s
small-business multibuyer insurance was the most popular product, followed by
working capital loan guarantees. The Bank anticipates additional authorizations
for transactions in the pipeline for minority-owned and woman-owned businesses
in the fourth quarter of FY 2012.
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