State export grants (STEP)
Grants from your state's trade office, funded by the SBA's State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), that pay part of the cost of finding customers abroad: trade missions, trade shows, translation, international marketing and export training. They pay for winning export sales, not for making the goods.
- No security
How it works
The SBA gives STEP awards to state and territory governments, and the states use them to help small businesses start or grow exporting. You apply to your state's STEP office, not to the SBA. The SBA says most states receive STEP support, and lists each state's contact.
What the grants can pay for, as the SBA lists them:
- taking part in foreign trade missions and reverse trade missions (foreign buyers visiting the US);
- exhibiting at export trade shows;
- export training workshops;
- designing international marketing materials and campaigns, and translation fees;
- making your website work for international sales and e-commerce;
- subscriptions to export services from the U.S. Department of Commerce and other federal agencies;
- consultancy services, and other export work the SBA approves.
Who can apply: the SBA describes STEP grants as being for established US small businesses. Each state sets its own application process, amounts and deadlines, and the SBA's awards to each state change every year.
STEP does not pay for producing or shipping an order. For that, look at SBA export loans or EXIM's working capital guarantee.
Upsides and downsides
Upsides
- Money you do not repay for the costs of finding foreign customers
- Applied for through your own state's office, not a national competition
Downsides
- Pays only for export marketing and market entry, not for making or shipping goods
- Amounts, rules and deadlines differ by state and change every year
Risks
- Spending on a trade mission or show before you know whether your state will pay its share
What it costs
- How it is priced
- Grants you do not repay, paying part of the cost of export marketing activities
- Costs that are easy to miss
- Any part of the costs your state's rules leave you to pay yourself
- Time to apply and to report on results
Set by each state. The SBA's awards to states for fiscal year 2024 ranged from $100,000 to $900,000 per state, shared among its businesses.
Does it fit?
Could fit when
- You want help paying for trade missions, trade shows, translation or international marketing
Unlikely to fit when
- You need money to make or ship an export order (STEP pays for marketing and market entry, not production)
- The business is not yet established (the SBA describes STEP as for established small businesses)
- You need the money within days or weeks
Who can use it
- Business types: Sole proprietorship, Partnership, LLC, S corporation, C corporation, Benefit corporation, Cooperative
- An established US small business
- Located in a state or territory that has a STEP award, and meeting that state's own rules
Am I ready?
What a provider is likely to ask for. Tick what you have. Your ticks stay in this browser and nothing is stored. Checklist for all grants, tax credits and prizes
0%
0 of 2 ticked
- Export plan
- The activity and its costs
Regulation and protections
Regulators: U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
Who runs it: State or local program.
The SBA sets what STEP awards can pay for; each state runs its own grants under those rules.
Types of provider: State and territory trade or economic development offices that hold STEP awards.
Also consider
What has changed
No changes since this page was published. It was last checked against its sources on October 20, 2026.
Sources
- SBA: State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), including the directory of state awardees · checked October 20, 2026
- SBA: Trade tools for international sales · checked October 20, 2026
Something wrong or out of date?
Every fact here comes from a source, and rules and limits change. Email what looks wrong to data@fundladder.uk and, if you can, where you saw the right information. We use your email only to check the correction and reply. Privacy