INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – They are calling it an historic relaunch. A global business initiative is reopening its Indiana chapter.

The idea is to better help Hoosier businesses grow to reach a global market.

Global Chamber Indianapolis originally launched in 2016. Now, new tactics and resources are being added in hopes of helping all sorts of Indiana businesses grow and navigate during a difficult time for trade.

Global Chamber is in 525 regional markets and 195 countries. By relaunching the Indianapolis chapter, Global Chamber Indianapolis hopes to become a one-stop shop for businesses.

“We are going to concentrate on what we call small and medium sized enterprises, and we are going to concentrate on mid cap businesses about $25-30 million,” said Dr. Toby Malichi with Global Chamber Indianapolis. “We are going to concentrate on investors who are looking for foreign direct investment who want to expand, and we are going to focus on small growth business.”

This time around, Dr. Malichi says he is creating committees that focus on trade in certain countries to better educate business owners on the current market and how it is changing in relation to trade.

“This platform gives us a resource of collaboration and network, not only in the state of Indiana, but around the world,” says Gina Sheets, agricultural initiatives director with Sagamore Institute.

Indiana business leaders say you can’t put a price on a resource like this. It is something that will provide connections to help Indiana businesses grow to a global market that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to access.

“So it is all about your net worth is in your network, truly. And this is it, communication and education that is the key,” says entrepreneur Soraya Van Horn.

Dr. Malichi says he foresees challenging times approaching for U.S. businesses currently feeling the pinch from tariffs.

“There is definitely going to be a slowdown. I don’t think necessarily a recession, like the great recession of 2009, 2010, but we are going to begin to feel some kind of impact until we get this trade war settled,” Dr. Malichi said.

He adds that Global Chamber will serve as a place to discuss those issues affecting business, and the partnerships will provide resources for education on how to move forward.

“As our policies become more isolationist, in a sense, we have to as a state be willing to branch out beyond some of those borders and to establish our competitiveness in the market, regardless of what the stance on a national stage may be,” said Rob Panos, chief of staff at Sagamore Institute.

To get involved with Global Chamber, you can call Dr. Toby Malichi directly at (317) 515-8866. More information can also be found on the Global Chamber Indianapolis website.