If you’re not looking overseas for sourcing or sales growth, you may be missing important opportunities. That’s the conclusion of a 2008 study by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (wbenc.org), which indicates that women business enterprises (WBEs) are lagging behind in overseas sourcing.

According to the survey, just 29 percent of WBEs are buying overseas, as opposed to 100 percent of the 22 major corporations surveyed. Why does that matter? The study points out that six of the top 10 categories of business that the corporations source abroad (IT services and consulting, general consulting, manufacturing, transportation and staffing) are also in the top 10 categories of women’s businesses surveyed. Interestingly, while India was the No. 1 overseas supplier to corporations, it ranked only sixth among WBEs, indicating a relatively untapped resource.

But there is activity afoot that may give WBEs a leg up in the overseas marketplace. WEConnect International is an initiative dedicated to promoting an international certification standard for WBEs and incubating new national certification organizations. (Currently, only the U.S. and the U.K. offer WBE certification.) WEConnect is focusing most of its efforts on Canada, China and India. For more information about the initiative, visit WEConnectInternational.org.