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Press Release

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

OPIC to Hold Minority and Women-owned Business Workshop in Miami

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the primary U.S. government agency focused on helping U.S. businesses meet the challenges of investing overseas, will hold a workshop to enable minority and women-owned businesses in Miami to learn how products and services offered by OPIC and other U.S. government agencies can help them expand into emerging markets.

The workshop, called Expanding Horizons, will be held at the Westin Colonnade Hotel in Coral Gables on Thursday March 29. It being held in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency and the National Women's Business Council.

Also supporting the OPIC workshop are The Broward Alliance, Enterprise Florida, Latin Chamber of Commerce of U.S.A., and World Trade Center Miami.

Companies interested in participating in Expanding Horizons may register at www.trademeetings.com.

OPIC established the workshops out of awareness that minority and women-owned businesses face unique challenges in their efforts to gain entry to the global marketplace: lack of knowledge about government programs available to support overseas investment, scarcity of capital to pursue opportunities abroad, and concern over political risks in emerging markets have prevented them from expanding overseas.

Participating companies will learn about challenges and opportunities of overseas and cross-border investment; U.S. government programs offering assistance to minority andwomen- owned businesses; political risk insurance; accessing capital for overseas projects; opportunities infranchising and thehousing sectors; and OPIC support for U.S. small businesses. Speakers will include senior government officials from OPIC and other agencies, and representatives from businesses investing overseas who shared their insights and experiences. The luncheon speaker is Linda Lane Gonzalez, CEO of ViVA Partnership, Inc. of Miami.


OPIC is the U.S. Government’s development finance institution.  It mobilizes private capital to help solve critical development challenges and in doing so, advances U.S. foreign policy.  Because OPIC works with the U.S. private sector, it helps U.S. businesses gain footholds in emerging markets catalyzing revenues, jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad.  OPIC achieves its mission by providing investors with financing, guarantees, political risk insurance, and support for private equity investment funds.

 

Established as an agency of the U.S. Government in 1971, OPIC operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to American taxpayers. OPIC services are available for new and expanding business enterprises in more than 150 countries worldwide. To date, OPIC has supported nearly $200 billion of investment in over 4,000 projects, generated $74 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 275,000 American jobs.