Maui small businesses hit by this summer’s wildfires are getting financial support to participate in this year’s Hawaiian Airlines Made in Maui County Festival on November 3 and 4, 2023 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism’s (DBEDT) Community-Based Economic Development (CBED) program is providing $65,000 in grants to cover booth fees for vendors. The Hawaiian Airlines Made in Maui County Festival is an annual event presented by the Maui Chamber of Commerce to showcase products from the islands of Maui, Moloka‘i, and Lāna‘i.
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The State of Hawai‘i Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) has been awarded a $3.2 million dollar grant from the Department of Defense, Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation. Through the grant funding, DBEDT will establish a Military and Community Affairs Office which will focus on effective collaboration and transparency between the State of Hawai‘i, county governments, the community and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
The Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) is recruiting Hawai‘i companies to promote and sell Hawai‘i-made products at the Autumn 2023 Tokyo International Gift Show (TIGS).
Navigating the post-pandemic economy while dealing with the devastation caused by the recent Maui wildfires has created many unforeseen challenges for Hawaiʻi's small businesses. In an effort to give local small business owners extra support during these times, the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism is holding a free business fair Saturday, Sept. 16 at Leeward Community College.
Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), and Innovate Hawaii/HTDC recently held Small Business Resource Seminars on O‘ahu and Hawai‘i Island and an on-line session for Maui. Programs like CBED, EZ, HiSTEP, MAP, MEP, SBIR were presented to the small business community and provided an overview of possibilities to help and grow their business.
Keith Amemiya has recently been appointed as chair of Governor Green’s Sports Task Force, which is under the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT). Amemiya was the executive director of the Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association and has served on the Honolulu Police Commission, Hawai‘i Board of Education, and Aloha Stadium Authority Board. He is currently the Senior Vice President of Community Relations at Central Pacific Bank as well as the President of the Downtown Athletic Club of Hawai‘i.
The popular Hawaiʻi Small Business Fair returns to help local entrepreneurs launch and grow their companies in a post-pandemic economy and the state’s new business landscape. Business owners are invited to participate in the free event on Saturday, September 16, 2023, at Leeward Community College from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
In a major step towards making Hawaiʻi more green, resilient, and affordable, the Hawaiʻi Green Infrastructure Authority (HGIA) has been appropriated $50 million for Solar PV+Battery financing in the 2023-2024 fiscal year. This funding will enhance HGIA's capacity to make rooftop solar and energy storage accessible to ALICE (asset-limited, income-constrained employed) families statewide, helping them to reduce their energy bills and carbon emissions while enhancing grid-wide reliability.
On July 27 and 28, 2023, the Hawaiʻi-Japan Sister State & Sister City Summit was convened by the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT), and the Japan-America Society of Hawaiʻi (JASH) in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi with the theme of “The Ties that Bind”. The Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi and the Mayors of the City and County of Honolulu, Kauaʻi, Maui and Hawaiʻi, and the Governors, Mayors and designated representatives of the six prefectures, 16 cities and towns in Japan, which share respective sister and friendship relationships, participated in the Sister Summit.
This coming September 26, Hong Kong Business Association of Hawaii (HKBAH) is holding a business forum entitled: GO GBA FORUM on Oahu at the Hawaii Convention Center.
