Batavia, NY – Yesterday, in her address to Genesee Community College’s 38th annual Commencement Ceremony, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that the Finger Lakes Trading Cooperative will be expanded to include entrepreneurs from throughout the Genesee four county region, creating additional employment and economic opportunities throughout Western New York.

“The purpose of this project is to combine the buying and selling power of eBay with the principles of microenterprise to create employment and business opportunities in Western New York,” said Senator Clinton. “We wanted to create a global marketplace for local products and less than three years after the initial launch, we have seen tremendous growth and the positive results of our work. Today we are continuing the process of opening doors to the global marketplace.”

“I am thrilled to announce the expansion of the Finger Lakes Trading Cooperative to the entire four-county region. Genesee is going to be a great partner in this effort; that is why I am so pleased to make this announcement here,” Senator Clinton said.

Participants in the program have access to a variety of different critical tools to establish their online businesses. In particular, to assist with the initiative, eBay provides training courses so that all the entrepreneurs participating in the project can get the most out of the e-commerce opportunities. In addition, HSBC provides funding for micro loans of up to $25,000 to capitalize the companies, while HP and Kodak have provided computers, digital cameras and other equipment so that the companies involved can get their products online.

Local organizations participating as partners include: Genesee Community College and the BEST program, SUNY Geneseo, the Livingston County Industrial Development Authorities, Wyoming County Planning & Economic Development, Livingston County Chamber of Commerce, Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce, Rural Opportunities Inc., and Count Me In.

The program is designed with small businesses and entrepreneurs in mind - an economic asset in Western New York and throughout the state. Businesses that employ five or fewer employees make up a huge portion of the region’s employers:

In Genesee, these small businesses employ 16 percent of the county.

Livingston: just under 20 percent.

Wyoming: 20 percent.

Orleans: nearly 22 percent.

In August of 2003, Senator Clinton announced the launch of the Northern Adirondack Trading Cooperative: “A global marketplace for local products”, a program bringing together eBay, HP, HSBC Bank USA, Rural Opportunities Inc., the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, Clarkson University, and the principles of micro enterprise to link the North Country’s entrepreneurs with world markets - using the buying and selling power of eBay. One year later, Clinton was at SUNY Geneseo where she launched the "Finger Lakes Trading Cooperative," (FLTC).

To date, 77 businesses have gone through the 16-week training course. 51 remain active and most have incorporated e-commerce into their marketing and sales plans.

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