Hawaii Pacific Export Council

What Hawaii Pacific Export Council does

Hawaii Pacific Export Council (HPEC) is a 501c3 nonprofit founded in 1973 and headquartered at 521 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 214 in Honolulu, within the Homer Maxey International Trade Center at Foreign Trade Zone #9. HPEC operates as one of 56 federally chartered District Export Councils (DECs) nationwide and serves as an official advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Commerce's U.S. Commercial Service. Its 30-member board is appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, drawn from Hawaii and Pacific Island business leaders across financial services, legal, logistics, agriculture, and consumer goods.

The organization's core offerings are advisory and educational rather than technology-based: free Export Counseling, the annual Export University 101 training program launched in 2011, the SBA-funded Hawaii State Trade Expansion Program (HiSTEP), the Hawaii Export Resource Guide, one-on-one Company Mentoring, Trade Partner Finding Services, Market Research Resources, and Export Documentation Support. Services are delivered through a multi-channel mix including direct counseling at the FTZ office, island-wide seminars across Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii Island, Zoom-based webinars archived on YouTube, and Hawaii Pavilions at international trade shows. HPEC has no proprietary technology stack beyond a WordPress website, YouTube channel, and email newsletter distribution.

HPEC's revenue mechanics rest on three streams: pass-through federal and state grants (primarily SBA cooperative agreements administered via DBEDT for HiSTEP), corporate sponsorships (Platinum tier at $3,500 per year), and nominal event fees. The target customer is local Hawaii and Pacific Island SMBs (Hawaii, Guam, CNMI, American Samoa) seeking to enter or expand in international markets, with geographic emphasis on Asia-Pacific destinations including Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia, and New Zealand. The organization won the national DEC of the Year award in both 2017 and 2024.

Name

Hawaii Pacific Export Council

Legal name

Hawaii Pacific Export Council

Website

https://hawaiiexportsupport.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HPEC is a federally chartered 501c3 nonprofit District Export Council, founded in 1973, that provides free export counseling, training, and trade-mission support to small businesses in Hawaii, Guam, CNMI, and American Samoa through SBA-funded programs and pro bono board expertise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Export Trade Assistance

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Export Promotion & Market Access Support (BPADAMAC)

Keywords

• Export assistance services
• International trade education
• Export counseling programs
• Trade promotion services
• Small business export development

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Corporate Sponsorships: HPEC offers corporate sponsorship packages including Platinum Sponsor tier at $3,500 for 12 months, providing logo placement, complimentary seats at seminars, and recognition at events.
2. Government Grants: HPEC receives funding through cooperative agreements with U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and works with DBEDT (Hawaii State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism) to operate the Hawaii State Trade Expansion Program (HiSTEP).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Hawaii Pacific Export Council (HPEC) is a 501c3 nonprofit District Export Council that provides free export counseling, education, and mentoring to Hawaii and Pacific Island businesses seeking to enter or expand in international markets. Its core offerings include Export University 101 training, the SBA-funded HiSTEP (Hawaii State Trade Expansion Program), one-on-one company mentoring, market research support, trade partner identification, and export documentation assistance. HPEC also coordinates trade missions, Hawaii Pavilions at trade shows, and hosts international buyer delegations in coordination with the U.S. Commercial Service.

Product overview

The Hawaii Pacific Export Council (HPEC) is a non-profit organization that serves as one of 56 District Export Councils nationwide, operating in partnership with the U.S. Commercial Service and Hawaii Export Assistance Center. Rather than a traditional product company, HPEC offers a coordinated suite of advisory and educational services designed to help local businesses expand into international markets. The core offerings include Export Counseling for personalized export guidance, Export University 101 as the flagship annual training course, the HiSTEP (Hawaii State Trade Expansion Program) for comprehensive export development support, the Hawaii Export Resource Guide as a foundational reference document, Company Mentoring for one-on-one export planning assistance, Trade Partner Finding Services, Market Research Resources, and Export Documentation Support. These services work together to provide a complete export assistance ecosystem from initial market research through actual export execution.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Export Counseling Free export counseling services offering guidance on market entry, international marketing, shipping, market research, finding contacts, export finance, documentation, and foreign market requirements, provided through the Hawaii Export Assistance Center.
• Export University 101 Annual training program covering fundamentals of exporting including finance, marketing, legal, information technology, logistics, and cultural issues, providing high-level insights for new-to-export companies.
• HiSTEP (Hawaii State Trade Expansion Program)

Quantifiable outcome

• Companies export to 20+ countries with millions in export sales attributed to US Commercial Service assistance from Honolulu office
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011SBA funds the Hawaii State Trade Expansion Program (HiSTEP) through cooperative agreements. HPEC coordinates HiSTEP activities including export seminars, webinars, and one-on-one mentoring for Hawaii small businesses.
• U.S. Commercial Service / U.S. Department of CommercecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1973HPEC is an official advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Commerce's U.S. Commercial Service. Works with the Hawaii Export Assistance Center to mentor local businesses, identify export financing sources, sponsor export awareness programs, and conduct trade education.
• Hawaii State Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDBEDT administers the HiSTEP program and partners with HPEC for export development initiatives. HPEC helps coordinate DBEDT's export programs for Hawaii companies.
• SCOREminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHPEC works through SCORE to provide export counseling and mentorship to local businesses. SCORE counselors assist with business development including international trade topics.
• Hawaii Small Business Development Center (SBDC)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSBDC offices in Hawaii provide export assistance and partner with HPEC on training programs and company mentoring sessions.
• Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHDOA organizes Hawaii pavilions at international trade shows and provides agricultural export resources. Partners with HPEC on export programs for agricultural products.
• Foreign Trade Zone No. 9 (FTZ9)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerHPEC operates from FTZ9 headquarters and works with the Foreign Trade Zone for export documentation and trade facilitation.
• Guam Economic Development AuthorityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGEDA collaborated with HPEC and Guam SBDC to bring Export University 101 to Guam for the first time.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization): Japanese government-affiliated export promotion organization that connects Japanese businesses to overseas markets. Directly comparable mandate (export promotion, market entry support, trade partner matching) but operating from the foreign-market side rather than the U.S. SMB side.
• Export-Import Bank of the United States: Federal export finance agency whose services HPEC actively refers clients to. Comparable export-promotion mission but focused on financing instruments rather than counseling/education.
• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA): Federal agency that funds HiSTEP and partners with HPEC on small-business export programs. Overlapping mandate to support U.S. SMBs, but at national scale and across all small-business topics, not only exporting.
• U.S. Commercial Service (International Trade Administration): The federal trade-promotion agency within the Department of Commerce that HPEC advises and works alongside. Operates a global network of export assistance offices; comparable mission (export promotion for U.S. businesses) but at vastly larger national scale.

Regional players

• Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii: Local business chamber providing advocacy, networking, and trade-related programming to Hawaii businesses. Comparable in serving the Hawaii SMB community but with a broader (non-trade-specific) mission and membership-fee revenue model.
• Enterprise Florida: Florida's public-private economic development partnership with export promotion among its mandates. Closest state-level analogue to HPEC/DEC model in a different U.S. region, with broader economic-development remit beyond exporting.

Others

• Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT): State agency that administers the HiSTEP program and partners with HPEC on export development. Not a direct peer but the most material state-level counterpart funding HPEC's programs.
• National Association of District Export Councils: The umbrella non-profit coordinating body for all U.S. District Export Councils. Comparable as the parent network HPEC operates within, providing shared federal recognition and advocacy for the DEC program.

Direct peers

• Hawaii Small Business Development Center (SBDC): Hawaii-state SBDC network providing free export and general business advising to local SMBs. Directly comparable in geography, customer base (Hawaii SMBs), service mix (free counseling, workshops), and partnership ecosystem.
• SCORE Association: National non-profit network of volunteer business mentors providing free counseling and workshops to U.S. small businesses. Closest operational analogue to HPEC: volunteer-driven, free, SBA-partnered, locally delivered — with international trade as one of many topics rather than the singular focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hipacexports
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@HPEC/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/HiPacDEC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hawaii Pacific Export Council