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Market Development Cooperator Program

Most Exports Come Late in Project Period

As shown in the graph below, only 1% of the exports generated by the CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity (CenterState CEO) MDCP project came in the first three years of the project. Some cooperators are able to generate a higher percentage of their exports earlier on, but CenterState CEO's experience is not uncommon. This is the primary reason that the minimum term for an MDCP project is three years. Almost all projects last four to five years.

Fraction of Firms Report Exports During Project Period

The activity represented by the orange line in the graph includes individual counseling sessions with U.S. firms and instances of participation in trade missions or trade shows abroad. Much of the counseling came in the form of mentoring. CenterState CEO recruited several experienced exporters to work with 37 firms relatively new to international trade. This exceeded by seven its goal of serving 30 firms as mentees.

Of those so assisted, ten ended up reporting exports during the MDCP project period. While the majority of firms served did not report exports during the project period, they are now better equipped to succeed. Preparing to compete in global markets takes time and preparation.

Better Late Than Never

CenterState CEO noted that "many participating firms are dealing in high value added products, and therefore the sales cycle continue[s] over multiple years." A prime example is the single biggest export sale of the project, part of the biggest spike evident on the graph. It started with a meeting arranged in 2014, a year when CenterState CEO reported zero exports. But the deal was not consummated until 2018.

For some cooperators post-project success is trackable. Here are examples of projects where cooperators established a foothold outside the United States as part of the project. Many continue to produce exports well after the term of an MDCP cooperative agreement. But after a project period ends ITA cannot request export data from firms that had been participating in an MDCP project. While the data is not available to ITA, it is likely, based on results during the project period, that exports continue for some considerable time after the project period ends.

Read more about CenterState CEO's MDCP project.