Montana World Trade Center Receives $500,000 in Funding Funding to Support Rural Montana Businesses

The Montana World Trade Center at The University of Montana-Missoula has received $500,000 in federal funding to help rural businesses compete in the global marketplace.

The funding, which came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Office, will create the Montana Rural Business Accelerator program. The program will work with traditional agribusinesses that are disadvantaged by their rural locations, helping them retool to add production for the products and services demanded by customers worldwide.

“From wheat farmers to safflower producers, we have seen traditional commodity producers experience success when they market a higher-end product to the consumer,” said Arnie Sherman, MWTC executive director. “There is potential throughout Montana for this type of success. The new MRBA program will seek to develop that potential with a focus on our most disadvantaged communities.”

The program will:

* mentor select businesses to serve as examples of best practices.

* provide product and marketing assistance, including representation at trade shows and on trade missions.

* secure financing and venture capital.

* develop a Web presence for rural products.

* provide training and education on rural development issues.

* provide business planning advice and facilitation.

Services will focus on areas where the unemployment rate exceeds the state rate by more than 25 percent and where the median household income is below the poverty line. These counties are Lincoln, Sanders, Glacier, Mineral, Granite, Big Horn, Musselshell and Deer Lodge. Within these counties project activities will focus on communities with populations of less than 5,000.

MWTC offered scholarships to companies from these counties to participate in a recent trade mission to Ireland. “The success of the two participating scholarship companies was tremendous and has reinforced our belief that there are small companies in every corner of Montana that have the potential to grow their business to include an international market,” Sherman said. “We appreciate the support of Sen. Conrad Burns in helping to secure this funding that will be used to open the doors to the global marketplace to more Montana companies.”

MWTC is a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to help businesses establish and strengthen their international commercial capabilities. For more information call (406) 243-6982 or visit http://www.mwtc.org.

http://www.umt.edu/urelations/releases/2003/MWTCgran03.htm