Karen Mills, the administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration is set to speak at the opening session of the NGLCC National Business and Leadership Conference next week in Washington, D.C. The federal government will be active at this year's conference, offering attendees insights and outlooks about the intersection of government and business in various conference sessions.
Benjamin Todd, business development officer, Africa, in the global business development division at the Export-Import Bank of the United States, will appear on the panel for the Going Global - How to Find Customers, Finance International Growth and Contract with Multinational Corporations session on Thursday morning. In this session, Todd and other panelists will discuss how LGBT-owned businesses can locate international buyers, access valuable trade information, obtain working capital loans, protect against risk of nonpayment and offer buyer financing with the assistance of the Export-Import Bank. Details of the first annual NGLCC Business and Cultural Exchange in Buenos Aires will also be shared during this session.
Jim Thompson, regional director of the Global Partnership Initiative at the United States Department of State, will be on the panel for the Federal Procurement and Your Business session on Thursday afternoon. This session will cover the ins and outs of establishing client relationships with the federal government, and will offer insights into how LGBT-owned businesses are and can be doing business in the $500 billion federal marketplace.
Also on Thursday afternoon, Rohit Khanna, deputy assistant secretary for domestic operations at the United States Department of Commerce, will sit on the panel for International Trade - The U.S. Commercial Service and You. This session will allow business owners to explore the many useful tools made available by the U.S. Department of Commerce's International Trade Administration to expand the reach of their businesses.
Mills, Todd, Thompson and Khanna will join a all-star lineup of elected officials and top Obama administration officials participating in this year's conference, including U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, Chairman Fred Hochberg of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin.
"This is a very good sign and a very good start to educating the LGBT business community about tools to help them succeed and that this federal government is about serving all of America's small businesses," said Justin Nelson, NGLCC co-founder and president.
For more information on conference programming, visit the conference page here.
