Baltimore Sister Cities

Sept 21 / Expand your Maryland business overseas

Join this event to learn about the benefits of exporting and programs to help your business! 

Want to expand your business reach overseas? Attend this forum in Howard County to hear from representatives of Maryland’s Department of Commerce, U.S. Commercial Service, Center for Global Business at the Smith School of Business, and the Maryland-DC District Export Council.

Date/time: Thursday September 21, 2023 at 9-10:30 am ET
Location: Howard County Economic Development Authority, 6751 Columbia Gateway Dr., First Floor Conference Room, Columbia, MD 21046
Admission: Advance registration required
More info and to register: Event page

What You’ll Learn:

  • How exporting can benefit your business
  • Federal and state resources to help Maryland companies advance their export sales
  • Information about applying for export grant funds up to $5,000 and other export financing options
  • Private sector led networking opportunities and mentoring
  • Export counseling & training opportunities
  • Free and low-cost match making services and trade show opportunities


Maryland’s Global Gateway for Businesses

Maryland’s Global Gateway program includes:

Soft landing programs

Foreign companies interested in the US market can soft land in Maryland at participating sites to test out the U.S. market at an affordable rate. The soft landing sites provide participating companies with access to facilities, resources, advisors, and more. Program is coordinated by Maryland Department of Commerce. More info

Maryland companies can explore a foreign market by landing at one of Maryland’s partner locations around the world, including South Korea, Japan, Netherlands, France, UK, and Ireland. Program is coordinated by Maryland Department of Commerce. In addition, financial assistance via the ExportMD grant is available to eligible companies. More info

Maryland Innovation Lab

Launched in 2023, this program matches global startup and scaleup companies from around the world with companies from Maryland who can benefit from their innovative technology. The new “couples” will work together for up to 10 weeks, with strategic support from the lab’s partners. Program is led by World Trade Center Institute Baltimore (WTCI) in partnership with Maryland Department of Commerce and L Marks, a corporate innovation specialist. More info

Maryland soft landing program for international businesses

The State of Maryland has launched a soft landing program for international businesses. The program is coordinated by the Maryland Department of Commerce.

The program provides international companies with the opportunity to test out new markets at an affordable rate, with access to business resources, educational programs, mentors and advisors, networking events, and tailored advice. Co-working spaces, hubs, and incubators located around the state of Maryland provide office space and networking to international firms. Several sites are located in Baltimore. Some of the sites are focused on specialty sectors, and some are for tech in general.

Both in-person and virtual soft landing programs are available.

The program also supports Maryland companies, as reciprocal agreements with programs in other countries, to explore new markets abroad.

Baltimore Sister Cities encourages firms from our sister cities to try out this program, and for Baltimore firms to explore options to expand to our sister cities’ regions.

More information about the soft landing program

If your firm is interested in participating in the program, contact Jessica Reynolds, Senior Director, Office of International Investment and Trade, Maryland Department of Commerce: Jessica.Reynolds@maryland.gov.

For more info about doing business in Maryland and Baltimore

Maryland bluetech | greentech business delegation to Europe

Green-and blue-wave made out of curved lines and dots, superimposed on blue photographic background with molecule-style pattern. Maryland Commerce logo. Summary of the business mission. September 2022.

The Maryland Department of Commerce and several Maryland environmental tech and water tech companies are participating in a business delegation to the Netherlands, including Water Tech Europe trade show and other site visits, during the week of September 19 – 24, 2022.

The trip includes:

1. Participation in the Water Tech Europe trade expo and the accompanying Wetsus Congress at European Water Technology Week (EWTW) which brings together sessions and field visits focused on topics like sustainable water supply, wastewater treatment and reuse, circular economy, energy production from water, climate resilience, and new water sources. This is the place for professionals working on solutions for tomorrow’s water issues. EWTW attendees include universities, research institutes, innovative companies and corporate end-users, government representatives, and water clusters from Europe and around the world, including water clusters from the U.S. like the Milwaukee Water Council. European Water Technology Week takes place in Leeuwarden in the northeast region of the Netherlands. The Maryland Department of Commerce has a pavilion at Water Tech Europe for environmental tech businesses from Maryland.

2. Site visits — Maryland has planned networking opportunities and field visits to sites in The Hague / Rotterdam in the western region of the Netherlands for the delegation to learn about innovative technologies and meet potential business partners. The program is tailored to the focus sectors of the participating companies. Maryland Commerce consultants in Europe are providing free networking assistance to participants.

3. Maryland break-out session and networking event — Free, in-person event on September 22, 2022 at 5-8pm CET at Venture Café Rotterdam. An opportunity for Dutch entrepreneurs to meet the Maryland delegation and learn about opportunities to soft land their business in Maryland, your gateway to the U.S.A. Event info page

Delegation goals

  • Help Maryland firms explore business opportunities abroad
  • Find international business partners to bring innovative technologies to Maryland
  • Network with U.S. and European firms, innovation hubs, and research institutes
  • Raise the international profile of Maryland companies

Focus sectors

The program and topics is tailored to the focus areas of the participating companies, but it includes topics like:

  • Drinking water and wastewater management
  • Urban water management and climate resilience
  • Water in agriculture
  • Maritime technologies
  • Aquaculture
  • Renewable energy
  • Nature-based solutions for climate adaptation
  • Circular economy; water conservation and re-use technologies
  • Pollution; plastic soup
  • Digitalization

Potential site visits include:

  • Business networking events in Rotterdam/The Hague region
  • The Green Village at Delft Technical University (field lab for sustainable innovation)
  • Port of Rotterdam; Port XL maritime tech accelerator
  • Envirotech testing facilities
  • Stormwater water infrastructure; storm surge barriers
  • Aquaculture sites
  • In addition, the EWTW Wetsus Congress includes field trips related to resource recovery from wastewater, energy production from water, circular water systems, and horticulture. Tours start from WaterCampus in Leeuwarden.

Eligibility

  • Eligibility: Participation is open to Maryland firms — firms that have their business operations in Maryland.
  • Financial assistance: Maryland businesses can apply for the Export MD grant to cover a portion of their trip expenses (up to $5,000 reimbursement). The deadline to apply for this grant has passed.

Participating Maryland companies

Early Charm • Tetrahedron, Inc. • Innovatreat • Blue Sources • GaiaXus

Are you a Dutch company looking to do business in Maryland?

Maryland is the ideal place to expand your business to the USA, and for you to find Maryland partners to assist in addressing the environmental challenges facing us all.

Maryland has developed innovative programs and incentives to help international companies interested in developing a presence in the U.S. market, including the Maryland Global Gateway soft landing program: https://commerce.maryland.gov/softlanding which is available to companies in any sector, not only environmental technology.

The soft landing program is available year-round, but if you apply by Oct 31, 2022, your company may be eligible for additional financial assistance and support (press release about the Oct 31 application deadline)

For more information

Contact the delegation’s leader:
Andrew Kreinik, Regional Manager for Europe and Australia at Maryland Department of Commerce: andrew.kreinik@maryland.gov (or contact Baltimore-Rotterdam Sister City Committee for information).

Maryland Commerce’s blog post:
https://open.maryland.gov/blog/maryland-blue-tech-sector-on-full-display-at-european-water-technology-week

Learn more about doing business in Maryland:
https://open.maryland.gov/information-for/international-business

 

Logos of the Maryland companies in the delegation: Early Charm, Tetrahedron, Innovatreat, Blue Sources, GaiaXus
Logos of the promotion partners: Maryland Department of Commerce; BlueTechMD; Baltimore-Rotterdam Sister Cities

Sep 8-11 / China International Fair for Investment & Trade

The China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT) occurs in September of every year in Xiamen, China. CIFIT aims to focus on international business investment, promotion, development, and relations both in and outside China. The fair has been held annually for more than 30 years in the city of Xiamen in Fujian Province in southeast China. It is the largest such event in the country, regularly attracting more than 100,000 business people and 5,000 enterprises from more than 100 countries.

Due to the current COVID-19 situation, CIFIT has elevated their 2020 platform to be both online and in-person.

This year, the Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee (BXSCC) is partnering with the Maryland Department of Commerce to have a virtual booth to advertise and promote multiple aspects of Maryland industry and business. The BXSCC is celebrating 35 years of sister city relations with Xiamen this year.

More information

CIFIT website: www.chinafair.org.cn/CifitSystem/english/#/index

For more info on Maryland’s virtual booth at CFIT or other Maryland-China business opportunities: email at Maryland Department of Commerce or , BXSCC Business Sub-Committee Chair.

Baltimore-Xiamen Sister City Committee: bxscc.org

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logo-baltimoreBaltimore sister city committees operate under the auspices of the City of Baltimore’s Office of the Mayor.

 

Brandon M. Scott, Mayor

 

Previous mayor’s Dec 2015 press release about Baltimore Sister Cities.

 

Baltimore Sister Cities, Inc. is a 501c3 organization incorporated in the State of Maryland.
Member of  Sister Cities International, Maryland Nonprofits, World Trade Center Institute, Visit Baltimore, & affiliate of Maryland International Education Consortium.
Recipient of 2016 Innovation Award from Sister Cities International.