YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The Small Business Development Center at Youngstown State University officially launched its International Trade Assistance Center last night with adjunct professor of economics Mousa Kassis overseeing the program.
“My role will be as an international adviser to advise companies in small size, medium size, and farmers in expanding their businesses internationally,” Kassis said.
Kassis has been working with the International Trade Assistance Center (ITAC) and SBDC for the past month. During a meet-and-greet, ITAC’s mission and services were introduced to a dozen business people gathered at Williamson Hall on the Youngstown State campus.
With funding from a grant secured by the SBDC, the International Trade Assistance Center provides free services to businesses in the Mahoning Valley and Ashtabula County looking to increase exports.
Services include export readiness assessments, financial advice, help with finding government funds, logistics assistance, cultural readiness, and preparedness for foreign regulations and customs issues. The center also plans to offer some seminars with experts.
“I’m very excited about it because I believe it’s going to be part of the International Export Initiative,” Kassis said.
The federal government created the International Export Initiative to encourage American businesses to export more.
“If we increase business by $1 billion dollars a year it will support 17,000 jobs, so the more billions we add to the export, which we have potential to do so, that will increase employment and good paying jobs,” Kassis said.
Wages at businesses that export are 15% higher on average than similar jobs that don’t export, he said.
“I’m an exporter myself, I’ve been in business for about four years and we export to countries like India, Djibouti, Africa, Kuwait, Canada and we are expanding into different countries. We are looking at the Far East and so on,” Kassis said. “It’s hands on service that I bring in to help the small businesses with these logistics and everything else.”
In November, Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Jim Petro designated the Williamson Center For International Business as the state’s 50th center, the only center of excellence in international business.
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.