Black women have made remarkable achievements across America during the past year, including the landmark confirmation of Reta Jo Lewis as the first African American woman to serve as U.S. Export-Import Bank [EXIM] board chair and president.
The bank provides financing for exported goods and services through loan guarantees, direct loans, working capital, and insurance products, Lewis told FORBES magazine in a story published April 25.
“We fill gaps left by private financing vehicles so that American companies can win more sales and ultimately be more competitive in a crowded global marketplace,” she said.
“To all the great American companies…that need financing help to make more, export more, and sell more – think EXIM. The agency also has an important focus on helping minority-, women-, and veteran-owned businesses succeed in exporting.”
On Monday, the EXIM launched its Make More in America Initiative, which will “create new financing opportunities that spur manufacturing in the United States, support American jobs and boost America’s ability to compete with countries like China,” Lewis said in a release.
“The global pandemic and other recent events have exposed supply chain gaps in critical sectors like advanced manufacturing and renewable energy. EXIM’s Make More in America Initiative will be a key tool in tackling these issues, and it will ultimately help America manufacture more and export more,” she said.
According to the EXIM, environmentally beneficial projects, small businesses, and transformational export area transactions, including renewable energy, energy storage, semiconductors, biotech, and biomedical products, will receive financing priority.
President Joe Biden made Lewis’ nomination to lead the agency a priority in fall 2021 and she was confirmed in February – Black History Month.
The path to her EXIM role was not smooth. The Senate’s Banking Committee favorably reported Lewis’ nomination to the entire Senate on November 3, 2021. It stalled as several Republicans stated concerns with EXIM’s banking relationships with China, and whether Lewis could stand up to that nation.
The nomination was returned to President Biden on January 3, 2022. Biden resent the nomination the following day. The Senate confirmed Lewis on February 9, 2022, by a 56–40 vote. She assumed office on February 16, 2022.
“As the first Black woman to serve in this capacity, her confirmation is a shining example of what it looks like to break glass ceilings. This moment also marks the beginning of a new chapter for EXIM Bank and businesses across the country,” Congresswoman Maxine Waters [D-California], House Financial Services Committee chair and Kinloch, Missouri native, said after Lewis was sworn in on Feb. 16.
“I am especially pleased with Ms. Lewis’ record on a key priority, strengthening small, women- and minority-owned businesses. Throughout her career, she’s successfully supported these businesses by connecting them with both the resources and the networks they need to foster strategic alliances and opportunities.”
Lewis told FORBES her dedication to small business owners has roots in her family and her native town of Scottsboro, Georgia.
“My parents who were both small business owners and dedicated civic leaders. I have seen and lived the struggles and passion of small businesses firsthand. Alongside my four siblings, my parents instilled the value of hard work in all of us at a young age,” she said.
“We quickly understood the meaning of community and learned the vital role small businesses play in making towns like Statesboro wonderful places to live.”
Before joining the EXIM, Lewis was a Senior Fellow and Director of Congressional Affairs at the German Marshall Fund, where she led the effort to strengthen transatlantic cooperation.
Lewis served in the Obama Administration as the State Department’s first Special Representative for Global Intergovernmental Affairs.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Georgia, a Master of Arts from American University, and a Juris Doctor from the Emory University School of Law.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine again thrust Lewis into the world spotlight soon after she too office. Last week, Reuters reported that Lewis met with Ukraine finance officials at EXIM’s Washington, D.C. headquarters and assured them American companies will play a role in helping Ukraine triumph.
“We want Ukraine to win. That’s why we’re doing everything we can to help Ukraine defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to strengthen Ukraine’s position on the battlefield and at the negotiating table,” Lewis said.
