Nearly 30 small and medium-sized businesses are undergoing an intensive export-readiness exercise ahead of a mid-September trade mission to New York, designed to help first-time participants turn international exposure into business opportunities.

Executive director of the Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI), Michelle Smith-Mayers, said the pilot initiative would identify and address gaps among participating businesses before they travel with Barbados Trust Fund Limited (BTFL).

Smith-Mayers told journalists the businesses were at varying stages of preparedness.