Enterprise Florida Programs
www.eflorida.com
Enterprise Florida Inc. (EFI) is the public-private partnership responsible for leading Florida’s statewide economic development, international trade and business marketing efforts.
EFI’s mission is to diversify Florida’s economy and create better-paying jobs for its citizens by supporting, attracting and helping to create businesses in innovative, high-growth industries. EFI proactively targets high-value sectors including information technology, life sciences, aviation/aerospace/space, homeland security/defense and financial/professional services.
EFI also works collaboratively with a statewide network of local and regional economic development organizations to continually improve Florida’s business climate, ensure its global competitiveness and provide specialized assistance in each of Florida’s 67 counties.
Small Business at www.eflorida.com/smallbusiness/
Purpose: Enterprise Florida devotes a special section of its website to addressing the needs of the small business community. This tool provides information on EFI's programs as well as information about programs offered by other organizations throughout the state.
Access: Log on to www.eflorida.com/smallbusiness on the internet.
Export Counseling
Purpose: Enterprise Florida's Division of International Trade provides counseling to Florida companies interested in exporting their products overseas.
How It Works: Export counseling sessions normally take the form of one-on-one meetings at the business location or an EFI office.
Contact: Enterprise Florida International Trade Unit (305) 569-2650
International Trade Field Offices
Purpose: The International Trade & Business Development field offices provide export consulting and other services.
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Market Site Trade Events
Purpose: Enterprise Florida's Division of International Trade offers small and medium-sized Florida businesses interested in doing business internationally the opportunity to participate in overseas trade events and marketing missions to a number of countries worldwide.
How It Works: Open to all businesses registered in the state of Florida interested in doing business internationally, Enterprise Florida market-site trade events are professionally planned missions. They feature one-on-one, prearranged appointments with business executives interested in the specific product lines or services of participants. Or, they are professionally managed Florida product exhibits at leading international trade fairs.
Contact: Enterprise Florida International Trade Unit (305) 569-2650
Electronic Trade Leads Network
Purpose: Through trade events, international marketing initiatives and its network of international offices, Enterprise Florida generates numerous trade leads - offers from foreign companies to buy goods or services from Florida - then coordinates them in a free, online database available to registered companies throughout Florida.
How It Works: Florida companies may register, free of charge, online at www.eflorida.com to receive a password. Using the password, they will be able to download trade leads by product, country or time period.
Who Is Eligible: All Florida companies interested in international business.
Contact: Enterprise Florida International Trade Unit (305) 569-2650
FloridaProducts.org
Purpose: To help Florida companies market their products overseas through a website listing Florida exporters by product specialization. It is available online to companies worldwide.
How It Works: Florida companies may register for free by visiting www.floridaproducts.org to complete an online registration form that includes information on the company and its products. Florida Products is a partnership between the World Trade Center Miami and Enterprise Florida.
Who Is Eligible: All Florida companies interested in international business.
Contact: World Trade Center Miami (305) 871-7910
Venture Capital Information
Enterprise Florida's website, www.eflorida.com, includes a listing of venture capital companies with offices in Florida.
Venture capital from private investors and investment groups is critical to growing new technologies and businesses that expand the state's diverse economic base.
Enterprise Florida supports efforts in the state to match capital resources with entrepreneurs.
The Florida Venture Forum Inc. is an organization that holds regular conferences and other meetings that showcase high growth, private company prospects to venture capitalists, investment bankers and private equity investors throughout Florida, the Southeast U.S. and the nation.
Enterprise Bonds
Purpose: Enterprise Bonds are tax-exempt Industrial Development Bonds that provide a cost-effective means for qualified manufacturers, processors and nonprofit organizations in Florida to access the bond market for financing fixed-asset investment projects.
How It Works: Enterprise Bonds arrange bond financing into cost-effective groupings of smaller, individual project loans to form a larger composite issue. By spreading the cost among many borrowers, it reduces bond issuance costs to make tax exempt financing more economical for smaller projects. The program offers low cost (as low as 30% below the prime rate) variable rate financing through the use of composite bond issues.
Who Is Eligible: Florida manufacturers (those companies with a manufacturing SIC Code); nonprofits that have a 501(C)(3) federal tax classification and serve a community purpose such as healthcare, service, cultural or education groups.
The company must meet certain capital expenditure or prior bond issuance limitations and the company must also be creditworthy.
Amount of Funds: Minimum loan size is $800,000. Maximum up to $10 million as recommended by local economic development officials.
Contact: Enterprise Florida (407) 316-4692