Trade Winds Export Program Opens Doors for #YesWV Small Businesses

Trade Winds ASEAN was a resounding success. If you missed it, don’t worry. Here’s a brief recap of what happened!

• 4 WV small businesses 
• 25,000+ miles flown
• 3 countries visited
• 45+ meetings with potential clients and government officials
• $19k+ in STEP funding disbursed
• $60k+ reported sales already

Here’s what two of our participants had to say about their experience.

We participated in Trade Winds previously and found the event really opens up a lot of doors for us. We felt it was really very efficient; in one or two days you can get so many contacts that you wouldn’t be able to do by traveling around in a week or two. The U.S. Commercial Service can really get you in with the right contacts, or at least get a foot in the door.  By cold calling, you would never get something like this. It’s very efficient.

— Francis Goossens, Global Business Development Manager, TROY Group

All around it’s a great learning opportunity. If you haven’t exported yet, it’s an awesome opportunity for you to learn from and network with experienced exporters, U.S. Commercial Service officers, and others with expertise in the region, IN ADDITION to getting to go on these one-on-one meetings with the potential business partners they’re going to book you with.  For experienced exporters, it’s more focused on the individual meetings with potential partners but also the briefings prepared by the in country U.S. Commercial Service personnel, which contain great information on the culture, business practices, and growth opportunities.  We’ve now been to a couple different Trade Winds events and one of the great things is when you can explain your business, what you do, and specifically who are the potential clients or distributors you’re trying to reach, the U.S. Commercial Service will do this matchmaking service for you and set you up with meetings for you to come and explore those opportunities.

— Justin Seibert, President, Direct Online Marketing

Attending a trade mission is one of the best things you can do to jumpstart your exports. If you missed Trade Winds ASEAN, there’s Trade Winds Turkey in May 2024 to look forward to. Contact us today to start planning!