Some key findings from the Atlanta Metro Export Plan:
1. Metro Atlanta’s economy is dominated by small- and medium-size businesses that are not historically focused on exports.
2. Metro Atlanta is an “under exporter” despite being one of the country’s largest metropolitan economies.
3. The city’s diversified economy can lead to fragmentation and a lack of export support, and many of those firms that already export don’t know or trust the resources available to them.
Metro Atlanta leaders launched a new initiative Wednesday to boost the region’s exports, as state and local leaders vowed to close a worrying “opportunity gap” in foreign trade.
The Atlanta Metro Export Plan is designed to be a clearinghouse of strategies and resources for small- and medium-size firms who want to grow their international business. The initiative also features a series of seminars with companies across the region.
It was sparked by fears that Atlanta isn’t living up to its export potential. The region’s $25.5 billion in exports in 2012 made it the nation’s 13th-largest exporter. But it ranked 75th among the nation’s 100 largest metro areas for export intensity, another key indicator that measures exports as a percentage of economic output.
“Seventy-five out of 100 doesn’t work for us,” said Hala Moddelmog, the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s head. “We’re going to be moving to boost the exports up.”
The plan will be implemented by the chamber, Georgia’s Economic Development Department and the city of Atlanta. It will feature the likes of Rich Cavagnaro, who runs a water treatment business called AdEdge Water Technologies that increasingly relies on foreign trade. The company just began exporting in 2011; now exports make up 40 percent of his business.
“We’ve really benefited from taking our eyes off the domestic market and going international,” Cavagnaro said.
Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said the initiative will offer a level of coordination and collaboration that small companies need to market themselves internationally by building off the networks that Atlanta-based titans such as Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines have already forged.
“Our large businesses certainly know how to do this well,” Reed said. “But it’s my hope that small businesses can link up with these large ones to build bridges.”
The plan is a project from The Global Cities Initiative, a five-year, $10 million multicity effort launched in Atlanta in 2013. JPMorgan Chase, which helped fund the program, announced a $300,000 grant for the export program to finance the website’s launch and the seminars.
“We have a lot of resources. But it was a lot like cats that needed to be herded,” said David Balos, a JPMorgan Chase executive. “This portal is just pulling the information together to make it a one-stop shop.”
Find out more at: www.atlantaexportportal.com/
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