The Biggest Event in Global Trade Best Practices is Coming to Cleveland in 2025

By NATE WARD
Certified Global Business Professional, Certified CGBP trainer, Ohio SBDC International Trade Advisor and serves as the Vice President of NASBITE International

[TLDR: The National Association of Small Business International Trade Educators (NASBITE) is hosting its 2025 annual conference in Cleveland. Professionals, educators, and even students should mark this on their calendars.]

My job exists because companies in the U.S. - particularly those who fit the small-to-medium size-rely on external experts to help them keep out of trouble, while servicing foreign markets that prefer or need US-made products and services. Just this week alone I met with a company that’s entertaining selling advanced aerospace equipment to buyers in Asia for the first time (in case you’re wondering, it’s no simple matter!). Another long-time client sells to major food factories around the world, but received his first inquiry from Argentina where there are complex and risky policies implemented by that government.  The advice and guidance from trade counselors like me can be the difference between companies gaining access to hungry growing foreign markets, or the loss of time and money for lost ventures.

But where do international business advisors get their insight? Some, like me, have been able to carry over knowledge from our time in the private sector where perhaps we had jobs at established companies and we pass along the knowledge of our time with those firms.  But no matter the reach or length of the time we spent on the front lines, there will always be changes or hurdles in a market or industry we’ve never encountered before.

That’s where the power of networking comes in. Whether you want to understand international business as a private consultant, an industry sales manager, or even as an educator, you should know about a group called NASBITE International, CGBP.

NASBITE offers opportunities to network and get to know attendees throughout the conference like this motley crew out on the town during the 2024 annual conference.

So what is NASBITE anyway? It’s the National Association of Small Business International Trade Educators. The group was formed in the late 1980s when prominent business leaders, government officials, and trade organizations realized there was a need in the US across business, universities, and government agencies to increase the common knowledge of how global trade works.

Fast forward to today. NASBITE has grown to an organization with members around the world, and includes representation from the SBDC, US International Trade Administration, SBA, EX-IM Bank, the network of CIBER universities, and individuals across the spectrum of trade professionals. Among its major platforms, including the Certified Global Business Professional credential, the Exporter Summit, and the Trade Passport video library,  by far the most visible program is its annual conference, where attendees gather for two days, teach one another about the most important and consequential developments impacting global trade, and developing relationships.

Dorian Zwierewicz, Regional Director of the SBDC at Florida Gulf Coast University, had to say this about attending the 2024 NASBITE conference, which was held at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas NV,

“From an SBDC perspective, it was an excellent opportunity to pick the best minds in international trade with strategies on growing our export assistance program.”

And it’s not just for trade advisors. Business professional Amina Bleen, MBA, CGBP, CPS-T,Sr. Associate Product Strategy Manager at JP Morgan Chase told me,

“NASBITE’s conference in Las Vegas did a fantastic job of showcasing how global trade can build stronger, more resilient communities.... For professionals like myself, attending [the] conference serves as an opportunity to stay on top of industry trends and integrate these insights into my own ventures. It’s easy to see why I look forward to this conference every year!

The programming itself is a tour de force with tracks aimed at developing educators, business professionals, and government advisors respectively. Perhaps surprisingly, our fastest growing segment is university students themselves, in part due to the growth our our student case competition and student pathway programs.

The student competition team from the University of Missouri bracketed by their mentors and fellow statesmen.

The student competition team from the University of Missouri bracketed by their mentors and fellow statesmen.

The conference attracts some of the biggest names in international trade, and thought leaders in the evolving trends of trade and transportation. This past year's conference included the likes of Josh Halpern, former US Diplomat and current Senior Executive at SHOPLINE and Stephen Cheung, President & CEO of the World Trade Center Los Angeles.

I had the pleasure to present this gift to keynote speaker, Stephen Cheung

But the secret sauce of what sets the NASBITE conference apart is simple. Our members are welcoming, curious, and want to develop relationships with people no matter where they come from. And they’re typically very generous with their time and knowledge. And it's no surprise. Global business is too fraught with uncertainty. The best antidote is building strong relationships, which I think comes naturally to the audience this trade summit attracts.

I had the pleasure to present this gift to keynote speaker, Stephen Cheung.

The conferences mix opportunities for first-time attendees to mingle and get to know the base that make up the body of NASBITE’s membership. This conference is where you can literally rub shoulders with some of the most influential movers and shakers in the community of international trade.  People such as Dr. Ray Bowman DBA, CGBP, Six Sigma Greenbelt, director of the EDC SBDC in Camarillo California, who is working on transformative practices in AI modeling for international business models. Or Dimy Doresca, CGBP, who has been the force behind the creation of a premier exchange model that has been developing the next generation of Africa’s business leaders at the University of Iowa. Incidentally, it was through NASBITE’s connection that I was able to get to know Dimy.  Our casual connection via NASBITE eventually came around to his invitation to me to join him in a US Embassy backed training in Senegal for West African business owners looking to grow their exports. Dimy needed a second trainer who could deliver the training in French, and before I knew it I was on a plane from Cleveland to Dakar.

So, why should YOU attend? Well for starters, if you're reading this because you're one of my LinkedIn followers there's a very good chance you live somewhere close to -if not in- Ohio. Block off your calendar for April 8-10, 2025. You're busy. Even if you're not in Ohio, all the better! NASBITE members come from all over the USA and as far away as Japan, Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada, France among others. If international is your business or perhaps in your blood, don't miss this opportunity to join our community. This conference will celebrate 20 years of the CGBP exam and we expect it to be a special event.

NASBITE offers opportunities to network and get to know attendees throughout the conference like this motley crew out on the town during the 2024 annual conference.

For more! Read more about NASBITE's annual conferences

Follow NASBITE on LinkedIn

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