Roughly 325 leaders from across South Carolina attended the 15th Annual Governor’s Rural Summit.

The summit is an annual training event for the leadership of South Carolina’s rural communities, providing a forum for local leaders to share knowledge and gain new ideas. The event educates and inspires participants so that they return to their communities with the tools and motivation to improve local economic development efforts.

This year, topics ranged from entrepreneurship and workforce development to the film industry and its potential to bring investment to rural economies.

For the second year, the summit was held outside Columbia to increase the economic impact of the gathering on rural communities. Last year’s summit was held in Florence.

Chile mission slated for May 2005

South Carolina firms interested in the Chilean market can meet with potential partners in Santiago during a week of business matchmaking, briefings and networking events.

Organized by the S.C. Department of Commerce’s trade staff as a way for Palmetto State firms to take advantage of the recent Free Trade Agreement with Chile, the mission will help promote the participating companies’ products and services in the Chilean market.

The state DOC is also participating in a new international trade effort called “Export South Carolina,” which will focus on Chile. The program will involve seminars, conferences and delegation visits that will help educate South Carolina businesses on the benefits of international trade, which include increased competitiveness and faster growth.

Chile is a particularly promising market for a wide range of U.S. goods and services, and the Chile-U.S. FTA will offer South Carolina companies even greater access to this growing market. The country is considered to be the best-managed economy in Latin America and was the fourth fastest growing economy in the world during the last decade. Chile also offers preferential access to most markets in South America, low inflation, and a strong financial system.

For more information, call Amy Thomson at (803) 737-0488 or e-mail athomson@sccommerce.com.

S.C. Coalition for Small Business and Entrepreneurship announced

Small businesses throughout the state will get a boost from the S.C. Coalition for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Members of the coalition include the state DOC, the S.C. Small Business Development Center, the S.C. Export Consortium, the S.C. Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the S.C. Women’s Business Center, the Service Corps of Retired Executives and the U.S. Small Business Administration District Office.

These members will combine efforts to create a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and small businesses by optimizing state and federal resources currently designated for the individual efforts of each organization.

The coalition does not change any of the missions of the individual organizations, but rather formalizes the already existing relationships among these groups. The act of formalization provides the state’s entrepreneurs and small businesses with a statewide, seamless way of receiving a total package of assistance in order to increase their competitiveness and bottom-line success.

Small business guide available

The state DOC has created the Resource Guide for Business, a publication designed to help South Carolina companies locate services and resources available to help them grow. The guide is available for download on DOC’s Web site, www.sccommerce.com, in the “Grow Your Business” section.

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