International Small Business Conference And Expo To Be Held in Chicago

By GEORGE H. RYAN

Lieutenant Governor, State of Illinois

For three days beginning on April 30, small businesses will have the opportunity to visit a "one stop shop" marketplace, as the 1987 International Small Business Conference and Exposition gets underway April 30 and May 1 and 2 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

As the recently-named Trade and Tourism Representative for Illinois (an appointment made by Governor Thompson in his February State of the State address), I am pleased to be a co-sponsor of this event. The Expo will feature the latest in computer technology, state-of-the-art robotics and telecommunications, and a number of informative seminars.

The Expo promises another plus too: the opportunity to show the worldwide attendees that Illinois is resource-rich and ready to do global business. International trade is a staple of future economic development, and the Expo will enable us in Illinois to promote ourselves in the worldwide marketplace.

Who should plan on attending? Small business owners . . . representatives of governmental agencies . . . those who are involved in public policy . . . individuals active in economic development. The three-day event offers a broad-based appeal.

It is especially appropriate that Illinois is hosting this Conference, for it underscores the commitment that we have made to the small business sector. Certainly, findings from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Brookings Institute emphasize the importance of fostering the growth of this sector. Those institutions predict that as much as 80% of all new jobs will be spawned by smaller firms. Knowing what a powerhouse of job creation that small businesses are, we have to foster their growth and expansion.

One way we do that in Illinois is through the Illinois Export Development Authority (IEDA), which I chair. IEDA was formed in an effort to capitalize on the finding by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that every $1 billion in exports translates into about 25,000 jobs. Nearly 80% of all new jobs are export-related.

But small businesses have not traditionally pursued exporting — even though as many as 1,500 smaller firms in Illinois have the potential to competitively and profitably market their products overseas. Two factors have hindered their export development: lack of financing and lack of know-how.

IEDA is working to change that. Just last summer our state emerged as the premiere state in export financing when IEDA issued its first series of bonds in the amount of $15 million. (IEDA has a total bonding authority of $100 million.) Through these monies, smaller exporters can secure financing for their international sales through their local banks, virtually risk-free and at an attractive lending rate.

Our first loan went out in early autumn of last year, to a Bloomington-area agricultural enterprise. We look forward to many other success stories. And in fact, our export financing venture is considered so innovative that about 20 other states around the nation have adopted a similar mechanism.

Being at the forefront of economic development —aggressively pursuing a robust small business economy — these are the ways that we want to have Illinois characterized by business interests around the globe.

And through such undertakings as the upcoming International Small Business Conference and Exposition, we will be. I take great pride in joining the other co-sponsors of the Expo: the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, the American Retail Federation, the Better Business Bureau, the Illinois Ambassadors, the International Franchise Association, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Federation of Independent Business, the Association of Small Business Development Centers, and Small Business United.

Please plan on joining us at the Expo. For further information, call 1-800-252-2923. •

Page 24 / Illinois Municipal Review / March 1987