2025 HISTEP Company Assistance Proposal Form

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  • Please use this online proposal form to respond to the 2025 Request for Proposals (RFP) for Hawaii State Trade Expansion Program -Company Assistance (HiSTEP–CA) for New to Export and Market Expansion companies. 

  • You must submit all items that are marked with an asterisk *. You can save your work and continue later by clicking on that option at the bottom of this online form. If you have any questions, please see the RFP.

  • SECTION FOUR

  • SCOPE OF WORK

  • Applicant Questionaire and Evaluation

    The total number of points used to score this application is 100

    PART A


Company Information
Physical Business Address





Phone Number Format: xxx-xxx-xxxx



Name of the head of company



Contact Information for authorized representative for this program





Phone Number Format: xxx-xxx-xxxx







Use the NAICS Code Search for assistance.

Annual Gross Revenue for the past two years

$

$

$

  • PART B (25 POINTS)







  • Company’s product/service to market outside the US using HiSTEP-CA program:



  • PART C (50 POINTS)

  • Please attach a maximum four-page export market development plan for your company that includes how you will use the HiSTEP-CA award and the success metrics including ROI you expect. Please include ALL of your export marketing activities for the year, not just those for which you are seeking HiSTEP reimbursement. Also include a timeline for your activities (Review RFP Section 2.04 for the type of success metrics DBEDT must report).

  • Include in the company export development plan:

    • Summary of company business plan.
    • Company business model.
    • Brief description of products/services to be marketed and competitive advantages of products/services.
    • Foreign markets company will enter with those products or services and why.
    • Company’s strategy to be successful in those markets.
    • Distribution channels company will use.
    • Company’s sales targets for this marketing program.
    • Company follow up that will be needed to close sales.
    • List company activities and include a timeline for company export development plan.

PART D (25 POINTS)

Please prepare a budget using one of the budget templates.

If you are a New to Export (NTE) company downloaded from this link (XLS format).
If you are a Market Expansion (ME) company downloaded from this link (XLS format). 

Please include ALL budgets for your export marketing activities, not just those activities for which you are seeking HiSTEP reimbursement.

When developing your budget, please refer to RFP Section 2.07 Allowable Use of Award Funds for definitions of the eligible activities and the eligible expenses. All activities and payments for activities funded by this award must be completed no later than September 29, 2025.

It is expected that proposed trade shows will take place outside of the U.S. Proposed trade shows that take place in the U.S. must be an international show (that is, it must be attended by foreign buyers, not just U.S. buyers.) U.S. trade shows will be closely scrutinized. Contact HiSTEP staff for a determination as to whether or not the U.S. show qualifies to be covered under the HiSTEP-CA.

Please follow this nomenclature when naming your CLS file for upload:

"NTE Budget_(Company Name).xls" or "ME Budget_(Company Name).xls"


APPLICATION PREPARATION

APPLICANT FORM 1 (AF-1)

Application shall be submitted using Applicant’s exact legal name as registered with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, if applicable, in the appropriate space on Applicant Form page AF-1. Failure to do so many delay proper execution of the contract. If unsigned, the application shall be automatically rejected. Applicant will download this form using this link (DOCX format).



Submit a transmittal letter to confirm that the Applicant shall comply with the requirements, provisions, terms, and conditions specified in this RFP. (Ref. Section 3.01, no. 6, of the RFP.) Save the letter as a pdf file and upload. (Transmittal Letter template available in Word docx format here.)

(Ref. Section 3.01, no. 5, and Section 5.10 of the RFP.) Save a copy of the Applicant’s Certificate of Vendor Compliance as a pdf file and upload.



Funded in part through a Grant with the U.S. Small Business Administration

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