FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 18, 2002

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Lawrence Spinelli (202) 336-8690
Timothy Harwood (202) 336-8744

OPIC LAUNCHES HISTORIC SMALL BUSINESS INITIATIVE WITH THE SBA 

OPIC Small Business Center Established

Posing after signing today's OPIC-SBA small business agreement are (l-r) Gary Keel, OPIC Vice President and Chief Financial Officer who will serve as director of the center, Dr. Peter S. Watson, President and CEO of OPIC, Rep. Donald Manzullo, Chairman of the House Small Business Committee, and Hector V. Barreto, Administrator of the Small Business Administration.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tapping the renowned capacity of small businesses to transform economies, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) today formally integrated their efforts to promote the expansion of U.S. small businesses into emerging markets by establishing a Small Business Initiative. OPIC President and CEO Dr. Peter Watson and SBA Administrator Hector V. Barreto signed an agreement on Capitol Hill to launch the initiative.

In conjunction with the initiative, Dr. Watson also announced the establishment of an OPIC Small Business Center, to coordinate OPIC expertise for the development of small business deals through a streamlined approval process aimed at reducing costs for U.S. small businesses. OPIC Chief Financial Officer Gary Keel, a former acting associate administrator of the SBA, will serve as director of the center, which will open October 1.

Dr. Watson, Rep. Manzullo and Mr. Barreto during the signing ceremony.

Representative Donald Manzullo (R-IL), chairman of the House Small Business Committee, who also signed the agreement as a witness, said the initiative “represented an unprecedented step toward helping America’s small businesses compete in the global marketplace.  Pooling the resources of OPIC and the SBA will generate tangible opportunities for U.S. small businesses to expand into dynamic emerging markets. In the post-September 11 world, it is hard to overstate the importance of this development for American economic interests both here and abroad.” Chairman Manzullo, a long-time leader on small business issues in Congress, led the successful effort to reauthorize OPIC in 1999.

Dr. Watson said, “Small businesses have long been the primary engine of American economic growth.  That fact, we believe, will hold true for emerging markets as well, and by coordinating the expertise of OPIC and the SBA, we will go a long way toward unleashing the capacity of U.S. small businesses to generate growth, better standards of living and entrepreneurial spirit among our allies in the developing world.  This initiative responds to President Bush’s call for greater coordination between federal agencies, especially in the area of trade and overseas investment.  The creation of the OPIC Small Business Center is a new chapter in OPIC’s commitment to helping America’s small business grow through overseas investment.”

Administrator Barreto said, “This partnership between the SBA and OPIC will help to make sure that American small businesses that want to export American products have the opportunity and resources to do so. More than ever before, it is clear today that world trade is essential to the health of the American economy and to the growth of thousands of American companies. Entering the overseas marketplace offers exciting opportunities for small businesses to increase sales and profits, and our agreement with OPIC is a tremendous union of energy and expertise.”

By the terms of the OPIC/SBA Small Business Initiative,

•       Each agency will provide training on its programs to the other’s personnel in order to better serve U.S. small businesses.

•       The SBA will train OPIC personnel about SBA business information centers, finance and technical assistance programs. These programs will enable both agencies to make qualified referrals of financial and technical assistance to each other.

•       OPIC and SBA staff will meet regularly to share information about economic, financial and political developments, business development, and risk mitigation and management. Ad hoc working groups to support specific initiatives will be established; for example, the agencies will create a working group to support America’s Partnership for Prosperity with Mexico.

•       OPIC and the SBA will make staffs available to travel in the U.S. to participate in trade  shows, conferences and seminars focusing on small businesses and commercial lenders.

OPIC was established as an agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to taxpayers.

OPIC’s political risk insurance and financing help U.S. businesses of all sizes invest in more than 150 emerging markets and developing nations worldwide. Over the agency’s 30-year history, OPIC has supported $142 billion worth of investments that have helped developing countries to generate over $11 billion in host-government revenues and create over 673,000 host-country jobs. OPIC projects have also generated $64 billion in U.S. exports and create more than 253,000 American jobs.