CommerceConnect business assistance initiative in Birmingham one of 16 to launch this year Following the launch of its Michigan office last September, the U.S. Commerce Department’s CommerceConnect is expanding into Birmingham, Ala., one of 16 regions where the service is being launched this year.
Announced in 2009, CommerceConnect is a one-stop-shop initiative in which Commerce Department employees are cross-trained so that they have the ability to connect firms to the full menu of Commerce programs and can link business owners with other federal, state, local and nonprofit resources. The effort is designed to cut through red tape and simplify access to services and resources that can help companies grow, create jobs and become more efficient.
Newly cross-trained Commerce staff working in existing local department offices are beginning to assist Birmingham area businesses – no matter where they are in their life cycle, whether just getting off the ground or looking to expand into overseas markets – in collaboration with state and local partners.
CommerceConnect began as a pilot program in Michigan in 2009. Following its success, Locke announced the opening of a permanent CommerceConnect office in Pontiac, Mich., in September of 2010. CommerceConnect has a strong track record of building effective enterprise assistance networks in areas that have traditionally been fragmented and ineffective at advancing larger regional economic goals in a collaborative and cohesive manner. Since last October, the program has worked with over 440 new firms, referring them to more than 890 targeted business solutions, nine Commerce Department bureaus, and more than 50 federal, state and local partner organizations.
The CommerceConnect network has expanded since its initial pilot to include not only a Michigan field office, but also a Gulf Coast initiative and growing contingent of cross-trained specialists in Commerce Department field offices in 16 additional regions across the country, as well as a national call center and web portal. Today, CommerceConnect also announced business assistance in Middletown, Conn., and Charlotte, N.C.
Businesses in the Birmingham area interested in working with CommerceConnect specialists can contact the CommerceConnect Call Center at 1-888-728-4190 or visit www.CommerceConnect.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce
