Ex-Im Bank honored during special awards ceremony

Leading online business portal Diversitybusiness.com presented Ex-Im Bank with the Top 25 Government Agencies for Multicultural Business Opportunities Award during their 15th annual National Summit on Thursday, April 30 at the Harvard Club of New York in New York City.

Diversitybusiness.com announced the selection of Ex-Im Bank as a top agency along with 24 other government organizations that provide business opportunities to diverse business owners throughout the United States. Since 2009, Ex-Im Bank has authorized more financing to support the growth of minority- and women-owned businesses than it did over the previous 16 years combined. In FY 2014, the Bank financed U.S. exports from minority- and women-owned businesses valued at more than $2 billion.

“Ex-Im is honored to receive this award and to be part of an outstanding list of organizations dedicated to pursuing equality of opportunity and supporting economic growth and jobs here at home,” said Ex-Im Bank Vice Chair and First Vice President Wanda Felton, who accepted the award on behalf of the Bank. “We look forward to continuing our work with minority- and women-owned businesses as they expand their export portfolios and thrive in the global marketplace.”

According to Diversitybusiness.com, these agencies truly differentiate themselves in the market place in a time when diversity is on the rise.

More than 1.3 million diversity-owned businesses were invited to participate in an online election to determine this year’s “Top 25.” Voters were instructed to assess several factors in making their determinations, including the quality, consistency, and overall volume of business opportunities made available by agencies to women- and minority-owned companies.

Small business exporters can learn about how Ex-Im Bank products can empower them to increase foreign sales by clicking here. For more information about Ex-Im, visit www.exim.gov.

ABOUT EX-IM BANK:

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that supports and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees and export credit insurance, to promote the sale of U.S. goods and services abroad. Ninety percent of its transactions directly serve American small businesses.

In fiscal year 2014, Ex-Im Bank approved $20.5 billion in total authorizations. These authorizations supported an estimated $27.5 billion in U.S. export sales, as well as approximately 164,000 American jobs in communities across the country.