Providing the "Missing Link"
When it comes to getting information about global trade in the State of California, who are you going to contact?  Foreign buyers and investors want to do business in California, yet, if one tried to conduct online market research to find trade and investment opportunities in California, they would not know where to start.

California has a very sophisticated and complicated network of public and private sector economic development and non-profit global trade organizations located throughout the State.  They all represent and support California businesses, and help them to compete globally.  This network could better serve California’s business community if they presented themselves to the global marketplace in a more collective and collaborative manner. 

To address this problem, a new partnership was recently created between the U.S Commercial Service in California and the major economic development and non-profit global trade service organizations in the state.  “California Trade Partners” (CTP) has identified more than 40 public and private sector non-profit organizations that provide global trade and investment services on a full-time basis.  This statewide partnership is currently seeking methods to better serve California’s business community by leveraging each others resources and marketing collectively by utilizing cost effective and efficient technologies.

It was determined that the CTP and the 60,000 businesses it represents need one online portal where foreign buyers and investors can go to find that sufficient representation of California’s entire business community, to obtain the solutions they need, and to reach the ‘on-the-ground’ support required for successful trade and investment.

GlobalCalifornia.Com is that online portal and is designed to “connect” all of the websites and online content provided by the CTP, and combine that with other public and private sector trade promotion Internet content into a statewide and branded portal.  This portal will truly represent California’s global trade promotion community and the combined products and services of the members and clients it represents.  It has become the “official website for California’s Global Trade Community.”

How GlobalCalifornia.Com Works

GlobalCalifornia.Com will provide a “click & mortar” environment between California’s public and private sector trade promotion community, the clients they represent, and the foreign online buyers, sellers and investors that come to the website.  “Click & Mortar” is a term used to describe online trade promotion services, solutions and business opportunities combined with ‘real-time’ and online collaboration tools that are supported by ‘on-the-ground’ organizations.

GlobalCalifornia.Com can be compared to a shopping mall that has an array of fee and non-fee based website content providing trade promotion services, solutions and representation to California businesses.  The initial anchor tenants to this shopping mall portal are the CTP and they will provide initial portal content.  Subsequently, additional tenants will be added consisting of other public or private sector trade promotion websites. 

GlobalCalifornia.Com will follow the very successful model of how telecommunication companies compete and cooperate for user revenue - they are competitors and they are partners.  Once fully operational, the content providers on GlobalCalifornia.Com will compete, share, and collaborate with each other for user revenue and potential business.

GlobalCalifornia.Com is managed by two non-profit organizations and CTP partners - the Monterey Bay International Trade Association (MBITA) and the San Fernando Valley International Trade Association (VITA).  Under its current business model, GlobalCalifornia.Com will help generate revenue for its CTP partners, establish a customer base for its online sponsors, and provide economic growth for businesses throughout California.

Reference Video: http://www.mbita.org/globalcaliforniavideo.php.