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Unclaimed
Discovery tool, not advice. Every figure is the published rule, not a decision on your case.
Grants

State Trade Expansion Program (STEP)

Status

Open continuously

No deadline — apply whenever you are ready.

Always open
Amount
Not published

SBA awards STEP grants to US states and territories, which then reimburse individual small businesses for export costs - trade show fees, translation, international marketing, compliance testing. Per-company reimbursement amounts are set by each state, commonly a few thousand up to about $10,000-$15,000.

Funder

U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of International Trade

public · national

Deadline: Open all year — SBA's award to states is annual; individual small businesses apply to their own state's STEP office, typically on a rolling or per-event basis within the state's programme year.

Your odds
Not published

This funder does not publish a success rate. We rank it using the rate observed across similar programmes and label it as an estimate rather than implying we know.

Effort
moderate

Moderate — a form and supporting documents.

Who can apply

Must be an 'eligible small business concern' - in business at least one year, operating profitably, with a product or service of at least 51% US content, and able to export.

How to apply

  1. Find your state's STEP administrator (usually the state commerce or economic development department)
  2. Confirm the eligible activity and reimbursement rate for your state
  3. Apply before incurring the export expense
  4. Submit receipts for reimbursement

Related reading: How grant deadlines actually work · The EU SME definition (Recommendation 2003/361)

Apply on the funder's site

Source. https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/grants/state-trade-expansion-program-step

Last checked against the official page on 5 October 2026

Source: www.sba.gov

Report an error Something wrong or out of date? Tell us.

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