Did your business suffer economic loss due to this summer's extreme heat and drought?

DISASTER NEWS

                                                   Economic Injury Loans for Small Businesses  

                                   S

BA Disaster Assistance – Field Operations Center- East – 101 Marietta Street, NW, Suite 700, Atlanta, GA 30303

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SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans available in South Carolina

Following Secretary of Agriculture Disaster Declaration

ATLANTA - The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today that federal Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available to small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and private nonprofit organizations located in South Carolina as a result of excessive heat and drought beginning on May 1.

This disaster declaration includes the following counties: Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Florence, Georgetown, Greenville, Greenwood, Hampton, Horry, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg, and York in South Carolina.

“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities affected by the same disaster,” said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.

Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible
farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster.  With the exception of aquaculture enterprises, SBA can not provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers. Nurseries are eligible to apply for economic injury disaster loans for losses caused by drought conditions.

The loan amount can be up to $2 million with interest rates of 2.625 percent for private nonprofit organizations and 4 percent for small businesses, with terms up to 30 years.  The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources.  Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.  These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred.  The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.

Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.

Disaster loan information and application forms may also be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.  Loan applications can be downloaded from the SBA’s website at www.sba.gov/disaster.  Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. 

Completed loan applications must be returned to SBA no later than May 9, 2016.

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For more information about the SBA’s Disaster Loan Program, visit our website at www.sba.gov/disaster.

Chester County's New GITI Tire Plant Seeks New Vendors and Suppliers

Interested in possibilities of being a supplier for Giti Tire in Chester County, SC? Come meet and ask questions at the Giti Tire Supplier Outreach Event on September 30, 2015 at the Gateway Center, 3200 Commerce Drive, Richburg, SC (at Highway 9 and I-77), 4:00-5:30PM.

This is for the operational portion of the Giti Tire project only, (not construction related).

A flier for the event is attached. No pre-registration will be required; however, attendees may want to arrive a few minutes early to sign-in.

South Carolina Aerospace B2B Supplier Matchmaker Event

Thursday, August 27, 2015

1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Matchmaking Session  

3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Open Networking Session

Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center

1101 Lincoln St.

Columbia, SC 29201

The South Carolina Aerospace B2B Supplier Matchmaker event is an opportunity for aerospace suppliers to connect with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. OEMs and Tier 1 companies reevaluate their supply chains for the best quality, delivery and value, while suppliers seek the opportunity to further serve the aerospace industry. The Aerospace B2B Matchmaker is an industry focused speed-dating event between procurement representatives and potential manufacturing suppliers. 

·        Open to companies that provide a material, product, sub-assembly or technical service to the Aerospace Industry

·        Meet with Procurement representatives from up to 8 OEM and Tier 1 companies

·        Individual meetings will be conducted in a speed dating format for 15 minutes each

·        $35 registration fee

·        Scheduled matchmaking sessions will be followed by a 30 minute open networking session for all companies

·        Matchmaking session sign-up will be conducted through Eventbrite.com. http://tinyurl.com/kxntz4g 

Pre-registration authorization required.

·        Please contact:

Tessa Monahan, Tmonahan@sccommerce.com 

(803)737-1336 for more information

Come Join Us for Business Success Extravaganza 2015! A Great Investment in Your Business!

Only a few more days to register

for

Business Success Extravaganza 2015!

Read details and register to attend on our

website at http://www.winthropregionalsbdc.org

Med-enroll moving company headquarters to Florence County, creating 153 new jobs

Released Feb. 19, 2015 by ColumbiaBusinessReport.com 

Med-Enroll, a startup company specializing in assisting businesses with managing healthcare costs, announced Thursday plans to establish its company headquarters and processing center in Florence County. The $3.5 million investment is expected to create 153 jobs for the area.

“Med-Enroll’s decision to locate in Florence is proof of our efforts to attract new investments and job opportunities to our state,” said Senate President Pro Tem Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence. “South Carolina’s favorable economic conditions and skilled workforce are critical tools for growing and supporting businesses of all types.”

The new facility will be located in the 15,000-square-foot Rainwater Building at 151 W. Evans St. Med-Enroll is currently in preparations to have the historic building restored, with groundbreaking of the project expected to take place later this month.

Hiring for new positions is expected to begin immediately, the company said.

“The state of South Carolina and local officials in Florence have truly shown us their commitment to driving job creation and how business friendly South Carolina can be,” said Med-Enroll president Kerstin Nemec. “We are excited to be starting our venture in Florence and hope that our business will not only provide a positive economic impact in the region, but also serve as a business leader in helping drive the economic redevelopment of downtown Florence.”

Taking America’s Largest Seed Fund on the Road

By Javier.Saade, SBA Official News 

Originally Published: February 12, 2015

Javier Saade, SBA Assoc. Admin.
Office of Investment and Innovation

At the SBA, we oversee America’s Largest Seed Fund, formally known as the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.

These highly competitive programs provide the needed impetus for many advanced technology firms to move from ideation to commercialization, supporting our country’s innovation driven economy.  Since the programs’ inception, there have been over 150,000 awards totaling about $40 billion to help this country’s innovators and de-risk technology investments needed to keep our country competitive.   Annually, thousands of American innovators gain access to $2.5 billion in non-dilutive seed capital through the SBIR/STTR programs. While these programs are national in scope, not all communities have fully utilized this opportunity.

We recognize that American innovation is not restricted by geographic boundaries, and to ensure that all of America’s future innovators are aware of this advantageous funding opportunity, SBA and 11 federal agencies are taking the show on the road and embarking on an 18 state SBIR Road Tour.

The SBIR Road Tour “Seeding America’s Future Innovations”, is a nationally focused outreach initiative targeting advanced technology communities, including women-owned and minority-owned firms, in states that have underutilized this funding opportunity. Over the course of 2015, I am glad to announce that more than 20 individual program managers from the 11 participating agencies will travel by motor coach to convey the non-dilutive technology seed fund opportunity.  Each SBIR Road Tour stop is hosted by a local organization committed to supporting technology-based entrepreneurship, and will provide attendees with a coveted local opportunity to hear directly from federal agency program managers, and meet one-on-one with program decision makers.

The first series will take place the week of March 23rd, with stops in Louisville, KY, Nashville, TN, Atlanta, GA, and Columbia, SC.  The next stop is the week of April 27th in Long Beach, MS, Ruston, LA, Oklahoma City, OK, Wichita, KS, and Columbia, MO.  Trips to the North Central region is planned for July and the last to the Northwest in August.

It’s like a rock band tour with a twist - the rock stars are America’s innovators and we want to give you a stage to explore these amazing programs.

 If you’re a small technology firm, innovator, scientist or researcher, I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity. Since the SBIR/STTR programs inception, it has provided seed funding to companies including Qualcomm, iRobot, Symantec, and Genzyme. Through this outreach initiative, I am confident we will continue to expand on the program’s success, and am excited to see what innovation we seed next.

For more information on the SBIR Road Tour and the SBIR program visit www.sbir.gov.

Business Success Extravaganza 2015!

Unbelievable speakers and instructors ....... fantastic information ....... all for YOU, the business owner determined to succeed!   

We're very excited about this day-long opportunity to learn lessons and hear speakers who've never been available in our area before. Come join us, won't you?!  It will be a day to remember, and information to put into action as soon as you go home!

Register now on our EventBrite registration page.

Business Success Extravaganza 2015 ... March 24, 2015, offered by the SBDC and Winthrop University

Selling to Federal and State Governments

Course -- Understanding How to Sell to Federal + State Governments

Sponsored by Winthrop Region Small Business Development Center

Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at 6:00 PM - Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at 8:00 PM (EDT)

Rock Hill, SC

This is a 6-session Course taught by export specialist, Richard Speights, on preparing to sell to federal and state governments through government contracting.  Class sessions are held from 6 - 8 pm over a period of 12 weeks, on the following dates:    

• Tuesday, April 7, 2015
• Tuesday, April 21, 2015
• Tuesday, May 5, 2015
• Tuesday, May 12, 2015
• Tuesday, June 2, 2015
• Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Cost for this comprehensive course is $150 Total for all sessions.

For complete details, visit the course registration page at EventBrite:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/course-understanding-how-to-sell-to-federal-state-governments-tickets-15441714584  

For more information, call (803) 323-2283 or email the staff at WinthropRegionalSBDC@gmail.com 

Export University Seminar - Rock Hill 2/19/2015

Export University 101

Rock Hill, South Carolina

February 19^th, 2015 (8 a.m. - 4 p.m.)

Winthrop University, Thurmond Hall

Room 415
1708 Memorial Circle | Rock Hill, SC  29733

Thurmond Hall is located at the intersection of Park Avenue and Memorial Circle, across from Byrnes Auditorium.

Parking is reserved in the parking lot across from Carroll Hall on Ebenezer Avenue

Directions to campus: http://www.winthrop.edu/directions/

Registration fee is $75 per person and includes

breakfast, lunch and all training materials.

This one-day workshop on export sales, finance

and logistics will help you compete globally!

Getting back to the export basics is good business, whether you are new to exporting or an experienced international company. Topics will include:

·         Export sales techniques

·         Letters of credit and other export payment methods

·         Pricing strategies and how to offer financing to your customer

·         Credit insurance to minimize risk and maximize sales

·         Transportation and freight forwarding

·         Practical tips

Who Should Attend?

• Companies currently exporting but want guidance to expand overseas markets and sales.
• Companies new to exporting that want long-term success by avoiding typical, costly mistakes.

Click here to register for Export University 101– Rock Hill, SC  (http://www.sctrade.org/events.html)

Seating is limited for this popular event so registration & payment are required to guarantee a seat.

For more information: contact Anita Patel at 

803-737-0247, APatel@sccommerce.com or Dan Holt, US Small Business Administration, at 704-333-4886 x226, Dan.Holt@trade.gov

Event Sponsors: