Ex-Im Bank Sets New Record of $500 Million in Export Financing for Minority-Owned and Woman-Owned Businesses
August 3, 2012
(Ex-Im Bank)
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- This fiscal year for the
first time, the Export-Import Bank of the
United States (Ex-Im Bank) has set an all-time
single-year record of more than $500 million in
export financing for minority-owned and
woman-owned businesses in the United States.
The Bank’s financing has supported more than
400 transactions and an estimated 7,000
American jobs across the country.
Ex-Im Bank employs a business-development team
devoted exclusively to assisting minority-owned
and woman-owned businesses. The team provides
resources on how to access global markets and
use Ex-Im’s export financing to break into or
expand export sales.
"In this tough economy, increasing exports is
essential for growth and prosperity. Ex-Im Bank
has reached a new height in support of
minority-owned and woman-owned companies, but
we need to do more," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman
and President Fred P. Hochberg. "Our dedicated
staff can assist these firms, many of which are
small businesses, in accessing the financing
products to provide them with the funds to
expand and the confidence that they will be
paid for foreign sales."
Success Stories
Maya Williams, president and founder of
Morganna's Alchemy, LLC of Port Richey, Fla.,
sought the Bank's assistance after learning
about export-finance products from the
company’s insurance broker, Meridian Finance
Group. Williams met with Ex-Im Bank staff and
the Meridian agent, who moved quickly on a
transaction. The company was approved for a
$250,000 Ex-Im Bank small-business multibuyer
export-credit insurance policy to help it offer
favorable credit terms to foreign buyers and
expand sales. Williams also learned more about
Ex-Im Bank’s financing products at the Bank’s
Global Access for Small Business forum in
Tampa, Fla.
The company is both a minority-owned and a
woman-owned small business that manufactures
medicinal and botanical skin care products from
plant extracts, including those formulated to
treat many different ethnic skin types. With
exports already comprising 80 percent of total
sales, the company was looking to grow its
international business further.
Today, Morganna's Alchemy has 20 wholesalers in
five countries. With the Ex-Im Bank policy, it
is now able to offer 60-day payment terms to
its foreign customers. The expected growth from
the resulting sales will help the company
expand into a new facility and add three new
jobs.
"Ex-Im Bank has provided my company with
insurance to grow and do business overseas with
no worries," said Williams.
AR Chem Tex Industries LLC, of Edinburg, Texas,
exports chemical-treatment products and
equipment such as soap sticks for gas wells.
The company was seeking to enter new foreign
markets but did not have the ability to finance
that expansion. The company's president, Art
Lopez, attended an Ex-Im Bank Global Access
forum in Weslaco, Texas, where he learned about
Ex-Im Bank's financing products for small
business.
AR Chem Tex received a $500,000 loan from Frost
National Bank backed by an Ex-Im Bank working
capital loan guarantee to finance its business
expansion. AR Chem also was approved for a
$500,000 small-business multibuyer insurance
policy for the financing and risk protection of
its foreign receivables. Both products helped
the company increase sales to Mexico and
Venezuela as well as begin exporting to
Argentina and Colombia. As a consequence, the
company has hired five new employees and
tripled its overall sales.
"We hadn't expanded into new markets because of
limited capital and difficulty financing our
products," said Lopez. "Now that we have
financing from Ex-Im Bank, we are selling in
new markets in Latin America."
Ex-Im Bank has seen the majority of its
increased authorizations for minority-owned and
woman-owned businesses in the manufacturing and
transportation-industry sectors. Among these
businesses, the Bank’s small-business
multibuyer insurance was the most popular
product, followed by working capital loan
guarantees. The Bank anticipates additional
authorizations for transactions in the pipeline
for minority-owned and woman-owned businesses
in the fourth quarter of FY 2012.
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