Obama, heading to Latin America, announces ‘diaspora entrepreneur’ plan

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-heading-to-latin-america-announces-disaspora-entrepreneur-plan/2012/04/13/gIQAmV7PFT_story.html

Heading to a meeting with the hemisphere’s heads of state, Obama told an audience of dock workers and business owners gathered at the Port of Tampa that Latin America and the Caribbean, a region that has weathered the global downturn better than most, are a market of huge opportunity for U.S. exports.

He outlined a new initiative to better connect the hemisphere’s small businesses, provide export counseling to America’s small and medium-size firms, and expand Web sites that help international businesses find customers and other information.

Part of the program, known as the Small Business Network of the Americas, seeks to encourage companies within the various Latin American and Caribbean immigrant communities in the United States and connect them to markets abroad.

Obama announced more than $250 million in grants and loan guarantees for those “diaspora entrepreneurs” — made in part through the Overseas Private Investment Corporation — as part of the program.