|
Maine
International Networking Service connects Maine with
the world
University of Maine
August 30, 2002
ORONO, Maine - State Representative Susan Hawes, a legislator
who represents Standish and Frye Island in Cumberland
County and part of Limington in York County, recently
sat across a coffee table from a University of Maine
alumnus in a hotel lobby in Jakarta, Indonesia. Hawes
was on a political study tour sponsored by the American
Council of Young Political Leaders to the southeast
Asian island nation. Her meeting with the 1997 Maine
Business School graduate had been arranged by a new
service known as the Maine International Networking
Service, or MINS.
Hawes
is a member of the legislature's Committee on Agriculture,
Conservation and Forestry, and her meeting focused on
sustainable forestry issues in Indonesia with potential
applications for Maine. "His eyes lit up when we met
and began talking about Maine," says Hawes. "He has
wonderful memories of his time here and would love to
return for a visit. We stay in touch via e-mail to continue
our discussion of sustainable forestry."
Hawes'
meeting demonstrates the potential for MINS to begin
building relationships among people with connections
to Maine. In a global marketplace, the state's businesses
and government agencies are increasingly looking to
foreign markets for economic opportunities. Whether
they are searching for new customers, business partners
or trade relationships, they need to know where to go
and whom to contact.
Developed
with two years of financial support from the Department
of Industrial Cooperation (DIC) at the University of
Maine, MINS is putting businesses and government leaders
in touch with Maine college and university alumni who
now live in countries from Canada and Mexico to Europe,
Africa and the Far East. In addition to Hawes, the system
has already connected Maine companies with correspondents
in 12 countries.
"Our
office looks for ways to leverage the resources of the
University of Maine to promote economic development
in Maine," says James "Jake" Ward, DIC director. "We
created MINS to tap into alumni with expertise and connections
that can help Maine companies with international business
opportunities. We are expanding the database to include
the graduates of other Maine colleges and universities
to increase the pool of possible connections and the
benefits of the service."
Bob
Sargent of Downeast International Consultants, Sargentville,
manages MINS. Sargent is a former U.S. diplomat whose
assignments included Belgium, Bulgaria, The Netherlands,
Tunisia, Turkey and Vietnam. Since returning to Maine
in 1988, he has been assisting Maine companies to achieve
overseas objectives in a variety of ways.
"To
operative effectively overseas, it is imperative to
have responsive, trustworthy and sustained representation
on the ground in the country of interest," he says.
"Securing such representation independently from thousands
of miles away can be costly indeed, and time consuming.
MINS offers Maine companies a cost effective way to
establish an initial beachhead in a given country or
to complement outreach efforts via other channels, such
as those of the U.S. Foreign and Commercial Service.
MINS seems an especially appropriate resource for Maine,
where so many companies are 'export ready' but without
the financial resources and experiences required to
properly pursue overseas markets."
John
Lacasse of Medical Care Development (MCD) in Augusta
is in the early stages of using MINS referrals to establish
business relationships in Thailand, Vietnam and the
United Arab Emirates. MINS has reached Maine alumni
in the three countries, and as business opportunities
develop, Lacasse plans to contact those individuals.
MCD works with government agencies and businesses to
develop medical care systems and has conducted projects
in Maine and in about 12 other countries in Africa and
South America.
"We
conduct training workshops, survey areas for personnel
and equipment and arrange for education for medical
people," says Lacasse. In the UAE, Lacasse plans to
develop private emergency medical care services. In
Vietnam, he is working with an insurer to develop a
primary care system funded largely by people of Vietnamese
ancestry in the U.S.
"MINS
will be most useful in the early stages of project development,"
says Richard Coyle, director of the Maine International
Trade Center in Augusta. "The key is that it offers
contacts with people who are predisposed to have an
interest in Maine. Normally it's a roll of the dice
when you contact business or government officials in
other countries. They may respond positively or they
may not. MINS gives us an advantage."
Coyle
has already used the MINS network to make contacts in
Europe to attract financial investments in Maine, and
he is using MINS to arrange for meetings during a fall,
2002 sister state visit to Japan. "We're looking for
contacts with a variety of businesses," he says. "It's
all about networking and building relationships." Other
users of the MINS network include the Penobscot School
and Knox Semiconductor.
The
MINS database currently contains a total of 347 alumni
of UMaine, Maine Maritime Academy, Husson College, Colby
College and Bowdoin College. They live in a variety
of countries including Canada, Chile, Denmark, the United
Kingdom, Ireland, Mexico, South Africa and South Korea.
Sargent
hopes gradually to expand the database to include alumni
of other Maine colleges and universities. Overseas alumni
of the Penobscot School are being brought into the system
this summer.
Reaching
overseas Maine alumni begins with a phone call to Sargent
at (207) 359-8977, or e-mail to sargent@prexar.com.
Users support the service by paying a modest consultation
fee.
|
