SHARE:
Business Florida 2015 - The Regions
East Central Florida
Cocoa, Daytona Beach, Kissimmee, Lake Mary, Melbourne, Orlando, Palm Bay, Titusville
Small Business Success Starts Here
Small businesses are impacting East Central Florida’s economy in a big way thanks, in large part, to the University of Central Florida Incubation Program.
Now in its 15th year, the UCF Business Incubation Program is a network of partnerships between private enterprise and local governments in Orlando, Winter Springs, Kissimmee, St. Cloud, Apopka and Daytona Beach. Offices in each city provide space for up-and-coming entrepreneurs; business specialists, veteran executives and on-site managers serve as advisors and advocates; and the region reaps benefits.
The 2013 Regional Impact Study commissioned by the Florida High Tech Corridor Council revealed that between October 2011 and June 2013, the UCF Business Incubation Program helped sustain 3,350 jobs and generate a direct regional economic output of more than $327 million.
In 2013, the UCF Incubation Program was named “Incubator Network of the Year” by the National Business Incubation Association (NBIA), the world’s leading organization for advancing business and entrepreneurship.
And to put icing on that cake, in August 2014, the 2,200-member NBIA announced plans to relocate its headquarters and the formation of the Global Training Center for Business Incubation & Innovation from Athens, Ohio, to Orlando.
QUALITY OF LIFE
Downtown rising
Orlando has more than theme parks to crow about. SunRail is providing easier access to urban amenities and a “Project Downtown Orlando” task force has been formed to foster residential and business growth. Projects already under way: The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts with two entertainment venues opening in November; a $200-million renovation of the city-owned Citrus Bowl; and planning for a pro soccer stadium.
Educational clout
East Central is home to 16 non-profit colleges and universities, including: University of Central Florida, ranked 21st among the top 100 universities worldwide for registering patents in 2012; Florida Institute of Technology, one of only three Florida universities named among the top 200 World University Rankings 2013-14; and Valencia, Seminole State and Lake-Sumter State Colleges, which are sharing a $1.5-million National Science Foundation grant to increase the number of STEM minority students.
Fun in the sun
Florida’s “spacecoast” boasts 72 miles of Atlantic beach. Find your own patch of sand beside the ocean or venture inland to enjoy kayaking in the Indian River Lagoon, biking/hiking along the first completed section of the 52-mile East Central Regional Rail Trail in Volusia County and bird watching at Turkey Creek Sanctuary.
