The Boston Globe’s weekly Ocean State Innovators column features a Q&A with Rhode Island innovators who are starting new businesses and nonprofits, conducting groundbreaking research, and reshaping the state’s economy. Send tips and suggestions to reporter Alexa Gagosz at alexa.gagosz@globe.com.
SMITHFIELD, R.I. — Between the ongoing wars in Europe and Gaza and the high cost of doing business, expanding an American company’s footprint overseas can seem complex and expensive. But for Eva-Marie Mancuso, businesses of all sizes could easily begin preparing to sell globally.
“We are constantly saying to businesses: ‘Set yourself up now so you’re not feeling the same hit when we have another interruption in the market,’” said Mancuso, the director of the John H. Chafee Center for International Business at Bryant University, which has been a resource for businesses interested in expanding into global trade for the last 40 years through an official partnership with the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation.
Previously a special adviser to Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee, Mancuso will host the Center’s 38th annual World Trade Day at Bryant to tackle the ongoing issues around the global supply chain and how businesses could become more resilient.
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Q. How has trade in Rhode Island grown since 2020?
A. We’ve grown by a couple of hundred businesses, which is huge. In 2023, we had 1,770 small businesses and 2,009 total businesses that export for a total of $2.7 billion. I think people are realizing that they have to diversify how they sell and what they do. At the Chafee Center, we’ve administered the STEP [State Trade Expansion Program] grant for the last decade. That grant is available to small businesses [which is defined by companies of less than 500 employees with other caps] to help them get started on exporting and reimburses small businesses for eligible export-related expenses
Q. Do you think a piece of this growth is because companies are relocating to Rhode Island?
A. Look at the CIC building (a co-working space and hub in the Jewelry District in Providence). It’s nearly 90 percent full. We’ve brought in 42 offshore wind companies there. Offshore wind is one of our biggest trade opportunities and we have a whole ecosystem being built. But outside of that, I do think many companies are relocating here because we’ve made it easy for them. It’s not just that we give incentives and credits. That’s only a piece of this. But even if you get no incentives, the office space is more affordable in Providence per month, but you can still have access to Boston and New York.
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Q. Where are we exporting the most?
A. Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and the Dominican Republic. And we have so much room to grow when it comes to our exports: Only 2,000 businesses are currently exporting. We have 125,000 small businesses, so we have to develop that.
Q. What local companies have already seen success?
A. Julie Janson from NVTS [Night Vision Technology Solutions, Inc.], which sells night vision goggles, just did a webinar with me about how she used various services at the Chafee Center to get ready to look at what countries need these products. Regent Craft, which is building seagliders, is a huge cheerleader for Rhode Island. Cheryl Merchant, the chief executive of Taco Comfort Solutions, has been in this very male-dominated industry for 40 years and she’s a trailblazer in the supply chain. When the company had a challenge with the supply chain, she was able to pivot that company to develop sites around the world and Taco’s business has grown three or four times since the pandemic.
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Q. The Washington Bridge impacted many small businesses. How could trade help some of these smaller business become more resilient?
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A. What we learned from the pandemic is that there’s going to be an interruption at some point. That interruption could come in the form of a geopolitics or the collapse of a bridge. So how do we protect ourselves? Think about some of the businesses in East Providence, or others impacted by the Washington Bridge. Frog & Toad only has a 25 percent reduction, and it’s because they have an online presence. We’ve been pitching for many of these companies to build an online presence.
For an example: Lots of companies are focused on hospitality. Your hairdresser can’t work online. But we can certainly sell things globally. So that hairdresser can sell hair products and dip into the global market. If you already have an e-commerce store set up, you’re not going to feel the same hit when you have an interruption in the market.
Q. The Baltimore Bridge recently collapsed, which forced the area’s trade business to take a hit. Was any of that business moved to Rhode Island?
A. You never want to capitalize on someone else’s pain, but we are importing cars through Quonset. So when the bridge collapsed, we were able to have smaller vessels pivot from Baltimore to our port in Quonset.
Q. Outside of individual businesses and the Chafee Center, how is Rhode Island already working to build out its trade business?
A. Right now, we’re building out our East Providence marine terminal because ProvPort is getting full. So if we are going to grow in the offshore wind industry and shipping, we have to think ahead. If we’re going to ship globally, you have to have a place to put these things. The Rhode Island Airport Corporation is building out storage containers at the airport. These are things that could protect ourselves for the next interruption.
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
Q. Where are we not doing well in terms of trade?
A. We have to focus on importing goods, too. That’s foreign direct investment. We’re nearly last in the country in foreign direct investment. I’m going out to Select USA with leaders from R.I. Commerce in June to bring companies to Rhode Island. If you’re looking for a North American landing place, why not Rhode Island?
Yes, we have had higher costs here in terms of our workforce because we do project labor agreements and make sure people earn fair wages. But I don’t think that’s a bad thing. But how do we balance that? We have great talent. We’re turning out graduates in such a small, dense area.
Q. Our top exported products are waste and scrap, and chemicals, and other manufactured products. Where do you see potential room for growth?
A. We could be doing so much more in consumer goods. Frog & Toad is the perfect example. Build out your website to go to Canada.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.