The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted The U.S. Department of Commerce’s SelectUSA Road Show, the first-ever India event, in Kolkata on 16th October 2015. The other cities the Road Show included were Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

The Bengal Chamber and U.S. Commercial Services in Kolkata convinced the delegation to include Kolkata in their itinerary. The U.S. delegation was led by SelectUSA Executive Director, Ambassador VinaiThummalapally who was effusive in his praise for the Chamber and mentioned that it was a ‘perfect event’. Ambassador VinaiThummalapally is President Obama’s friend and former room-mate and major campaign fund-raiser. This programme was closely monitored by Washington DC. This event re-positioned The Bengal Chamber and Kolkata in the business map of the USA. For the first time ever, at least in recent memory, such a delegation led by an Ambassador visited Kolkata and The Bengal Chamber had the honour of hosting it exclusively.

President Obama launched SelectUSA in 2011 to promote business investment into the United States. SelectUSA was created at the federal level to showcase the United States as the world’s premier business location and to provide easy access to federal-level programs and services related to business investment. It provides information, data analysis, ombudsman services, and tools to connect investors with state and local economic development organizations across the United States.

The Kolkata Road Show hosted in the Chamber premises featured a half-day seminar with sessions by American professionals on investment visas, legal and financial issues, investment incentives, and successful investment strategies, followed by one-on-one consultations with a range of participating U.S States and localities. Participants gained insights about the unique incentives for each area, and gained key contacts to guide their investment decisions.

The Bengal Chamber and The U.S. Consulate General in Kolkata invited Indian companies looking to invest in the United States to register for SelectUSA’s first-ever India Road Show.

From the Chamber, Mr. Ambarish Dasgupta, President; Mr. Sutanu Ghosh, President Designate and Mr. S Radhakrishnan, Past President and President, TiE Kolkata were present. The programme was also partnered by TiE Kolkata, TiE being the global organization for entrepreneurs headquartered in Silicon Valley.

Mr. Craig Hall, U S Consul General in Kolkata; Mr. Jonathan Ward, Principal Commercial Officer, US Commercial Services in Kolkata and Mr. Paul Frost, Commercial Officer, US Commercial Services in New Delhi were also present.