Tuesday, February 21, 2012
WASHINGTON, D.C. – North Carolina small businesses will have an opportunity to learn how to gain access to lucrative emerging markets overseas with the support of the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), when OPIC and North Carolina’s Small Business & Technology Development Center (SBTDC) host a seminar in Raleigh on March 14.
The Expanding Horizons seminar will outline for participants the innovative financial tools – among them financing and political risk insurance – that OPIC has used for 40 years to help U.S. businesses successfully invest in emerging markets. In addition, the seminar will feature a presentation of OPIC case studies profiling successful projects, and another providing detailed guidance on applying for OPIC support.
The OPIC-SBTDC seminar will be held Wednesday, March 14, at the Raleigh Durham International Airport Authority. Companies interested in attending should register online at http://www.sbtdc.org/business-events/expanding-horizons/
The SBTDC has helped North Carolina businesses grow and create new jobs since 1984, by providing management counseling and educational services to small and mid-sized businesses. The SBTDC is the business and technology extension service of the University of North Carolina and is administered by North Carolina State and operated in partnership with U.S. Small Business Administration. With a lead center located in Raleigh, the SBTDC operates 10 regional service centers in 16 total offices, five specialty programs, and a management education services unit.
Since 2006, OPIC has held Expanding Horizons workshops in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, Houston, San Francisco, Boston, St. Louis, Denver, Philadelphia, and Orange, California, which have educated nearly 1,500 small business owners nationwide about OPIC services.
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OPIC is the U.S. Government’s development finance institution. It mobilizes private capital to help solve critical development challenges and in doing so, advances U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC works with the U.S. private sector, it helps U.S. businesses gain footholds in emerging markets catalyzing revenues, jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad. OPIC achieves its mission by providing investors with financing, guarantees, political risk insurance, and support for private equity investment funds.
Established as an agency of the U.S. Government in 1971, OPIC operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to American taxpayers. OPIC services are available for new and expanding business enterprises in more than 150 countries worldwide. To date, OPIC has supported more than $200 billion of investment in over 4,000 projects, generated an estimated $75 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 276,000 American jobs.
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