Federal Business and Commerce Grants

This grant provides funding for alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs to implement innovative community projects that promote economic growth, stability, and collaboration between the United States and Libya.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, and tribal entities in Massachusetts and Indiana to help businesses access training and assistance for securing government contracts.

This funding opportunity supports not-for-profit organizations and educational institutions in the UAE to develop programs that strengthen U.S.-UAE relations through cultural events, space exploration initiatives, and entrepreneurship activities.

This program provides funding to public bodies, nonprofit organizations, and government entities to support economic development and job creation initiatives in rural areas with populations under 50,000.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and government entities to establish and operate manufacturing extension centers that assist small and medium-sized manufacturers in eight U.S. states.

In October 2023, the Irish parliament passed new investment screening legislation and expects to implement the legislation in 2024. U.S. Embassy Dublin announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to implement an exchange program for Irish policymakers, legal professionals, and academics. The program should facilitate an exchange of best practices between the United States and Ireland, focused on sharing U.S. expertise and lessons learned - including federal and state government, legal, and academic perspectives - on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States. This exchange program should facilitate travel for up to five Irish participants and up to five American participants between the United States and Ireland, as well as cover the costs of associated events. Funding should also be made available for Irish participants to join relevant trainings on investment screening in third countries. Award subject to the availability of funds. A successful program may include meetings with: 1. officials at Treasury, State, Commerce, Energy, and other agencies involved in the CFIU.S. process to learn how the U.S. reviews investment, including what criteria are taken into account and how decisions are made 2. congressional staff to learn more about how CFIU.S. legislation was passed and understand current issues around investment screening 3. private sector contacts whose companies have undergone the CFIU.S. process 4. law firms and consultancies that represent clients in CFIU.S. reviews Objectives for the project: 1. Facilitate sharing of U.S. knowledge and expertise on investment screening 2. Examine multiple models for screening investments with counterparts from various sectors 3. Review the U.S. experience with establishing a high threshold, national security-based screening system to attract, rather than deter investment Applicants with questions may email dublingrants@state.gov.

This program provides funding to empower local organizations and communities in specific countries to lead their own development initiatives, focusing on inclusivity and sustainability.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to organizations working to strengthen small and medium-sized enterprises in Haiti, helping them improve performance, access financing, and create jobs to foster economic growth.

This funding opportunity supports the training and development of 100 young women entrepreneurs in South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini through a combination of online learning and in-person mentorship.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for nonprofit organizations led by alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs to implement projects that address key challenges in Togo, focusing on areas like economic growth, national security, and democratic institutions.

The Office of Native American Affairs (ONAA) mission is to ensure that American Indian, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians (referred to collectively as Native American) seeking to create, develop and expand small businesses have full access to the business development and expansion tools available through the Agency’s entrepreneurial development, lending and procurement programs. ONAA’s overarching goal is to promote and support American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiian entrepreneurs. In recent years, ONAA has successfully sponsored and managed nation- wide contractor-led workshops and roundtables, co-sponsored agreements, interagency agreements, and tribal consultations; developed and distributed promotional materials; and attended and participated in national and regional economic development conferences as subject matter experts for these groups. The focus of this pilot program initiative is to award a grant to a Native American serving business to carry out projects that support developing exports by eligible Native small businesses. The objective of NATEP is to increase (1) the number of Native small businesses that export, (2) the dollar value of exports, and (3) the number of Native small businesses exploring significant new trade opportunities. Such empowerment will serve to maximize economic impact and improve quality of life for the targeted underserved communities. Section 7(j) of the Small Business Act authorizes the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide management and technical assistance to eligible individuals and businesses. To be eligible for 7(j) services, a client must be: a socially and economically disadvantaged individual whose firm is a participant in the 8(a) Business Development Program; a business that is eligible to receive 8(a) contracts; or a business which qualifies as small under 13 CFR subpart 121 – Small Business size Regulations, and which is located in an urban or rural area with a high proportion of unemployed or low-income individuals, or which is owned by low-income individuals. The term “high proportion of unemployed” means the urban or rural county’s unemployment rate is not less than 140 percent of average unemployment rate for the United States or for the State in which such county is located, whichever is less, based on the most recent data available in the annual Local Area Unemployment Statistics report from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. The term “low- income individual” means an individual whose family’s taxable income for the preceding year did not exceed 150 percent of the poverty level amount established by the Bureau of Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, for determining poverty status.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for innovative projects led by alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs, aimed at addressing community challenges and fostering leadership development.

This award recognizes and promotes innovative green chemistry technologies that significantly reduce environmental impact, particularly in areas like greenhouse gas emissions, and is open to small businesses and academic researchers across the U.S.

This funding opportunity is designed to empower women entrepreneurs in Namibia by providing training, resources, and networking opportunities to help them grow their businesses and foster local partnerships.

The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Program is the U.S. Small Business Administrations (SBAs) largest matching grant-funded program providing quality service to the small business community. The SBDC Program has 63 Recipient Organizations - one in each state (with the exception of four regional SBDC networks in Texas and five regional networks in California), the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The Recipient Organization is responsible for establishing a Lead Center and a network of partner Service Centers to cover its designated area of service. The SBDC Program links the resources of Federal, state, and local governments with the resources of the educational community and the private sector to provide assistance to the small business community. In partnership with SBAs Office of Small Business Development Centers (OSBDC) and District Offices, SBDCs develop business counseling and training programs, informational tools, and other services that enhance the economic development goals and objectives of SBA, in their respective service areas, and their local funding partners.

This program provides funding to small U.S. businesses to develop and commercialize innovative education technology products that address critical challenges in learning and teaching.

This grant provides funding for U.S.-based nonprofit organizations and educational institutions to create virtual exchange programs that connect young leaders in the U.S. with their peers in the Middle East and North Africa, promoting cross-cultural collaboration and democratic values.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to non-profit organizations, educational institutions, and government entities to improve budget transparency and public financial management practices in collaboration with governments and civil society.

This funding opportunity supports projects that foster cultural, educational, economic, and environmental collaboration between the United States and New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tokelau, targeting a diverse range of applicants including individuals, non-profits, and educational institutions.

U.S. Mission China announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a Cleantech Business Case Competition to be held in East China (Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang or Anhui provinces). This program will seek and identify concrete ways to promote the business case for clean technology by holding a business plan competition for students to share innovative clean technology ideas. Participating students should be able to demonstrate business cases based on innovative ideas in clean technology and showcase ways to realize the development and deployment of those ideas.