A Message From The Director

Director Marsha E. Murray was appointed by Mayor Sylvester Turner and confirmed by City Council to serve as the Director of the City of Houston’s Office of Business Opportunity (OBO) in April 2020, after having served as OBO’s Interim Director.

Greetings!

As OBO’s new director, I’m very pleased to present to you this edition of our e-newsletter, Insights to Opportunity. We have revamped Insights to Opportunity to offer you rich content on a variety of topics in an easy-toread format.

With all of us having to embrace what appears, for now, to be a “new normal” due to COVID-19, OBO remains committed to supporting the needs of local small businesses. Indisputably, COVID-19 has had a major impact on Houston’s small business community’s operations, employees, and revenues.

As a result, our office has focused on providing the community with timely and vital health and business support resources through our COVID-19 Business Resource Hub on our website.

Responding to your call for economic relief, OBO has spear headed the development of the City of Houston’s Small Business Economic Relief Program, which provides grants of up to $50,000 to local businesses in need. In addition, understanding that a strong business support ecosystem is essential to your development, we have opened up this grant program to local chambers of commerce who were financially impacted by COVID-19.

While there may be a strong desire to hunker down during this crisis and focus your attention on local opportunities, I want to remind you about the role the global market-place can play in the growth and success of your business. In this issue, we take a look at how Houston-area businesses can navigate the global arena through trade partnerships, business to-business relationships as well as exports.

Lastly, I encourage you to stay healthy and safe, and to continue to prioritize the health and safety of your employees and customers.

Sincerely,

Marsha E. Murray

Director, Houston OBO