Enterprise Florida Inc. (EFI) is a public-private partnership serving as Florida’s primary organization devoted to statewide economic development.

The organization’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. It accomplishes this mission by focusing on a wide range of industry sectors, including clean energy, life sciences, information technology, aviation/aerospace, homeland security/defense and financial/professional services.

And, it is through collaboration with a statewide network of regional and local economic development organizations (stakeholders) that EFI helps to improve Florida’s business climate, ensuring the state’s global competitiveness. www.eflorida.com (407) 956-5600

Small Business
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 helpful resources on starting a small business in Florida.

Access:
Log onto the site on the Internet at www.eflorida.com/smallbusiness

Export Counseling

Purpose: Enterprise Florida’s Division of International Trade and Business Development 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) 808-3660

Overseas 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 overseas 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 shows.

Contact:
Enterprise Florida International Trade Unit
(305) 808-3660

International Trade Field Offices

Purpose: The International Trade and Business Development field offices provide export consulting and other services.
Boca Raton (561) 362-5626
Jacksonville (904) 359-9350
Miami (305) 808-3660
Orlando (407) 956-5639
Pensacola (850) 469-8989
Tallahassee (850) 298-6632
Tampa (813) 276-9430

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 distributes them to companies registered throughout Florida.

How It Works:
Florida companies may register, free of charge, online at www.eflorida.com/export to receive trade leads monthly.

Who Is Eligible:
All Florida companies interested in international business.

Contact:
Enterprise Florida International Trade Unit
(305) 808-3660

Venture Capital Information

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. Visit Enterprise Florida’s website, www.eflorida.com, for a list of
venture capital companies with offices in Florida.

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 and the nation.

Enterprise Bonds

Purpose: Enterprise Bonds are tax-exempt and taxable 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 capital-asset investment projects.

How It Works:
Enterprise Bonds, issued by the Florida Development Finance Corporation, can be arranged into single or composite issues. Bonds can be enhanced through direct pay letter of credit from an investment-grade commercial bank. The program offers both variable rate and fixed rate financing.

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.

Contact:
Enterprise Florida
(407) 956-5696

Advertising material and information is the responsibility of the individual advertisers, and appearance in Florida Small Business does not necessarily reflect endorsement of the product or service by the publisher, Enterprise Florida or FEDC; nor are the publisher and/or Enterprise Florida and/or FEDC responsible for the contents of the individual advertisements.