How to Obtain Export Financing

The federal government offers a number of financial assistance programs to help businesses expand or develop an export market, or to assist businesses that have been adversely affected by import competition.

Basic Information

• Small Business Guide to International Finance
  Become familiar with the various government programs designed to help your company finance its export transactions, and give it the capital to carry out its export operations.

Small Business Administration Programs

• Export Express
  SBA Export Express helps small businesses develop or expand their export markets by providing technical and financial programs to help business owners obtain adequate export financing.
• Export Working Capital Program
  This SBA program supports export financing to small businesses when financing is not available on reasonable terms. The program encourages lenders to offer export working capital loans by guaranteeing repayment of up to $1.5 million or 90 percent of a loan amount, whichever is less. A loan can support a single transaction or multiple sales on a revolving basis.
• International Trade Loans
  An SBA loan program that encourages international trade for business that establish the loan will significantly expand or develop an export market, or that the business has been adversely affected by import competition.

Export-Import Bank Programs

• Export Financing Guide for Small Businesses
  An interactive guide to how small businesses can increase export sales by taking advantage of government financing services.
• Export-Import Bank Small Business Initiative
  Provides working capital guarantee and insurance products that enable small businesses to increase sales by entering new markets, expand their borrowing base, and offer buyers financing while carrying less risk. Short-term insurance policies protect an exporter against non-payment by their foreign buyers due to both commercial (insolvency, bankruptcy and default) and political risks (war, revolution, transfer risk) and also allows exporters to extend competitive credit terms to their foreign buyers.
• Export-Import Bank Application Tools and Guidance
  List of applications and transaction tools used for doing business with the Export-Import Bank.
• Export-Import Bank Products and Policies
  List of Export-Import Bank's lending policies and products.
• Export-Import Bank's Guide for Filing Multi-buyer Insurance Policies
  Your Multi-buyer insurance policy provides valuable protection when some invoices go unpaid and you have to file an insurance claim with Ex-Im Bank. Unfortunately, some claims are denied because the insurance policyholder failed to do something required under the Policy. Please help us to help you avoid these mistakes. Here are four common reasons that multi-buyer insurance claims are not paid.
• Pre-Export Financing to Help U.S. Exporters Maximize Borrowing Potential
  Ex-Im Bank's working capital financing enables U.S. exporters to obtain loans that facilitate the export of goods or services.
• Short-Term Single-Buyer Export Credit Insurance
  Exporters of U.S. goods and services can reduce their risks of selling internationally on credit terms by insuring specific, foreign receivable with Ex-Im Bank's Short-Term Single-Buyer Export Credit Insurance Policy. This policy is a valuable tool for: Risk Mitigation - insure receivables against nonpayment by international buyers; Marketing - extend competitive credit terms to international buyers; Financing - arrange attractive financing with the exporter's lender by using insured foreign receivables as additional collateral.
• Small Business Export Credit Insurance Policy
  The policy is a special product for small, financially viable businesses that are new to exporting, or have only occasionally exported. It can help increase an exporter's international sales by extending competitive credit terms while minimizing risks, and is valuable as a: Risk Mitigation Tool to insure receivables against nonpayment by foreign buyers; Marketing Tool to extend competitive credit terms to foreign buyers; and Financing Aid to arrange attractive financing with the exporter's lender by using insured foreign receivables as additional collateral.

Overseas Private Investment Corporation

• Overseas Financing for Small to Medium Enterprises
  OPIC provides medium- to long-term funding through direct loans and loan guaranties to eligible investment projects in developing countries and emerging markets.