By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : With the demand for US products and services on the rise in India, a US government agency helping small business concerns and an Indian-American trade association have joined hands to advance export opportunities there.
A strategic alliance memorandum (SAM) signed by the US Small Business Administration (SBA) and the US-India Business Alliance (USIBA) will allow them to share resources to help start, maintain, and expand small businesses, particularly through trade with India.
The first of its kind agreement for SBA and the US-India business community will last for two years.
“The strategic alliance memorandum will further align the SBA and USIBA missions to support America’s small businesses,” SBA administrator Steve Preston said Friday.
“Working together, we can strengthen US small businesses by helping them access growing markets like India, where business and consumer demand for US products and services is on the rise,” he added.
“USIBA is excited about administrator Preston’s enthusiastic promotion of a trade agenda,” said Sanjay Puri, president and CEO of the USIBA, which works for increasing commerce between the US and India.
“This agreement with SBA will extend each organization’s efforts to foster and facilitate further involvement by the US small business community in trade with India. We look forward to an enduring and impacting institutional relationship that will continue to contribute in a meaningful fashion for many years to come,” he said.
The SBA and USIBA alliance will strengthen and expand small business exporting opportunities through education, advocacy and matchmaking opportunities.
SBA will provide USIBA with timely information on the agency’s programmes, services and resource partners, update them on events that will advance their mission and provide speakers at USIBA events.
It would also invite them to SBA-sponsored events and provide a hyperlink from SBA’s website to USIBA’s website, and assign a point of contact to serve as a liaison between SBA and USIBA.
As part of the pooling of resources, USIBA will cooperate with SBA and its resource partners to provide information to members about its businesses development programmes and services.
It would also disseminate current SBA news and information, provide speakers for SBA-sponsored events and provide a hyperlink from USIBA’s website to SBA’s website and assign a point of contact to serve as a liaison between USIBA and SBA.