 |
CONTACT US SUBSCRIBE TO NEWS OPIC BLOG |
|
|
||||
| Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) | |||||||
The OPIC Blog
OPIC’s increased commitment to small businessMay 22, 2012Small businesses are at the heart of the U.S. economy, and OPIC is committed to putting them at the heart of the global economy as well. This chart illustrates the progress OPIC has made in recent years. In fiscal year 2011, 78% of OPIC’s committed projects were with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). That represents an increase from 69% in Dr. Lawrence Spinelli, OPIC’s Director of Public Affairs: “The credit crisis is a very real challenge for businesses and OPIC is here to help them.”April 04, 2012How OPIC has made a special effort to work with small businesses As the Director of Public Affairs for OPIC, Dr. Larry Spinelli spearheads the Expanding Horizons seminars and workshops, which help educate American small- and medium-sized businesses about the benefits of entering emerging markets abroad, and the ways that OPIC’s finance and political risk insurance products can help. With 
Expanding small business lending in AfghanistanJanuary 27, 2012OPIC and Afghan Growth Finance (AGF) have agreed to expand an existing partnership and this week signed an agreement to co-finance up to $11.5 million in loans to small businesses in Afghanistan. The new facility will provide small and medium-sized enterprises with access to capital in larger amounts and for long-term tenors – terms generally unavailable from other financial institutions in the Expanding a successful program for small businessesJanuary 18, 2012In 2012, OPIC will expand its popular Expanding Horizons event for small businesses, hosting seminars and workshops in multiple cities around the U.S. to help educate small businesses about the benefits of entering emerging markets abroad, and the ways that OPIC’s finance and political risk insurance products can help. OPIC has hosted Expanding Horizons around the country for the past six 
U.S. Rep. Ros-Lehtinen urges U.S. businesses to look beyond their bordersNovember 16, 2011U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen made introductory remarks at OPIC’s Oct. 26 Expanding Horizons seminar in Miami, where she told a group of small businesses that expanding internationally could be key to their growth and overall success. Ros-Lehtinen, who represents a U.S. Congressional District in South Florida, stressed that trade played an important role in the overall economic health of the 
Project profile: Brazilian plant supports growth of U.S. juice makerOctober 21, 2011Sambazon Inc. of San Clemente, Calif. was formed in 2000 when a couple of friends traveling in Brazil noticed the local popularity of the antioxidant-rich açai berry and saw an opportunity to introduce it into the U.S. They started by purchasing a container of frozen pulp and peddling it to juice bars in southern California, but as sales took off 
Project profile: Mexican food project in Russia fuels sales of American-made equipmentOctober 21, 2011American entrepreneurs build a Mexican food business in Russia using an OPIC loan to fund its expansion, ultimately driving sales of equipment from a supplier in southern California. That’s the short story behind ZAO Solntse Mexico, a 2007 OPIC loan recipient, which was so successful introducing Mexican food products to Russia that it generated $9 million in revenues in 2010. 
For small businesses, adapting to tough times often means expanding their horizonsOctober 21, 2011Ricardo Tejada, Founder and Managing Director of Vnesto Capital, delivered the keynote address at the Expanding Horizons seminar in Orange County, CA, where he shared his story of adapting to the recession by expanding his business into South Korea and Ecuador. Vnesto Capital was founded in Los Angeles in 2005 to help small firms obtain capital and build successful business plans, Small firms also have a role in the global economyOctober 18, 2011OPIC President and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield recently published a piece in the Miami Herald about the economic benefits of small businesses expanding into developing markets overseas. Attached is the full text of the piece, which can also be found at MiamiHerald.com Today’s business news is dominated by the affairs of America’s largest corporations, like Apple, Boeing, GE and Google. The Expanding Horizons: “We have to change our perspective of where our next customers are coming from.”October 07, 2011“A big business can walk into a bank, get in the door and probably even end up with financing for an overseas investment. But for a small business, it is particularly challenging,” Lawrence Spinelli, OPIC’s Director of Public Affairs, (pictured) noted at the start of OPIC’s Expanding Horizons Seminar last month in Southern California. The Expanding Horizons event for small |
 |
