Commerce News

South Carolina Office of Innovation announces grant awards

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The S.C. Department of Commerce Office of Innovation today announced more than $719,000 in grant awards to nine organizations as part of its Startup Fuel Challenge grant series. Tasked with advancing innovation, entrepreneurship and technology-based economic development, this grant program focuses on projects that are outcome-oriented and aim to build stronger entrepreneurs and companies.

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S.C. Department of Commerce hosts 28th Annual South Carolina Rural Summit

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The S.C. Department of Commerce gathered leaders from across the state on Monday, March 5 and Tuesday, March 6 for the 2018 South Carolina Rural Summit. Held in Columbia, S.C., this year’s event featured leadership development sessions, opportunities to share best practices between community leaders, an awards ceremony and presentations from a variety of speakers, including Governor Henry McMaster and Giti Tire’s Hank Eisenga.

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South Carolina Office of Innovation launches 3Phase

COLUMBIA, S.C. –The Office of Innovation at the S.C. Department of Commerce today announced the launch of 3Phase, a new resource aimed at assisting research-based companies in South Carolina successfully acquire Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards. A first of its kind, 3Phase will provide training and workshops throughout the state on the federal SBIR and STTR programs, while managing the application process for a portfolio of companies, both at no cost to participants.

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South Carolina export sales top $32 billion in 2017, achieve eighth consecutive record year

COLUMBIA, S.C. – For the eighth consecutive year, the State of South Carolina set a record for total export sales in 2017. Today, Gov. Henry McMaster, the S.C. Department of Commerce and the S.C. Ports Authority announced that the state’s 2017 export sales totaled $32.2 billion, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. The figure represents a 2.9 percent increase over the 2016 total.

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State of South Carolina announces 2017 industry recruitment results

COLUMBIA, S.C. –The S.C. Department of Commerce today released its 2017 industry recruitment results. In total, the state won 157 economic development projects last year, accounting for $5.24 billion in capital investment and 18,445 new jobs.

“South Carolina has become an industrial powerhouse,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt. “To recruit more than $5 billion in capital investment – a feat which had never occurred prior to 2011 – takes a remarkable amount of collaboration and teamwork from many partners across this state.”

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Grants awarded to improve 18 South Carolina communities

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Eighteen communities across South Carolina are slated to benefit from public improvement projects supported by more than $6.1 million in funds from the latest round of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. The S.C. Department of Commerce is awarding CDBG funds to these communities, representing more than 74,820 residents, for the following projects:

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State and community leaders graduate from South Carolina economic development training programs

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The S.C. Department of Commerce (S.C. Commerce) and S.C. Economic Developers’ Association (SCEDA) today announced that approximately 45 state and community leaders have graduated from two statewide economic development training programs. Five individuals completed the S.C. Economic Developers’ Advanced Symposium (Advanced Symposium), while more than 40 graduated from the S.C. Economic Development Institute (Institute).

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South Carolina’s economic ties with Japan on display as conference begins

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 40th Annual Joint Meeting of the Southeast United States (SEUS)-Japan Association and the Japan-United States Southeast Association commenced today with an opening ceremony at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Greenville, S.C. Although the conference is closed to the general public, it’s occurrence is significant because it brings together many political and business leaders from around the Southeastern United States and Japan.

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S.C. Coordinating Council for Workforce Development reviews results of manufacturing workforce survey

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The S.C. Coordinating Council for Workforce Development (CCWD) met today to review the results of a statewide manufacturing workforce survey. Conducted by the S.C. Department of Commerce’s Division of Research, the survey provides insight into workforce issues facing the state’s manufacturing industry. More than 70 percent of the survey’s respondents had 50 or fewer employees.

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S.C. Department of Commerce awarded grant to support export assistance programs

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The S.C. Department of Commerce has been awarded a State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for the sixth year. In total, the SBA is awarding $18 million to 44 states in this year's round of STEP grants, which are designed to support and encourage small business export success. South Carolina was awarded its full requested amount of $340,600.

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