Skyline College’s CITD Program received some very good news in late 2015. The State of California Centers for International Trade Development (CITD) was awarded nearly $750,000 of grant money from the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the California State Trade and Export Promotion (CA STEP) program. When combined with CITD’s matching funds, this created a pool of over $1 million to help small businesses in California explore international markets.
The Bay Area CITD program, housed at Skyline College in the Global Learning Programs and Services Division, has been named a CA STEP partner to lead the trade mission to Hannover, Germany. Hannover Messe 2016 is the world’s largest Industrial Technology Trade Fair. This year’s trade fair is special because the United States is the first and only Official Partner Country with Germany. The key guest of honor at the trade will be President Barack Obama, who is undertaking this visit to “underscore the growing importance of the U.S.-German relationship” (USA Today, 12/30/15).
Yvonne Reid, CITD Director, Deputy Sector Navigator for Bay Area Global Trade and Logistics will lead a delegation of nine California-based companies to showcase their products and services at Hannover Messe 2016. The fair hosts over 220,000 industry representatives from over 70 countries.
To learn more about Bay Area CITD, please visit: http://www.bayareacitd.org
Article by Alina Din, CITD Program Services Coordinator
