Exporting goods and services outside of the United States is one of the fastest ways to grow a small or medium-sized business and the most impactful way to grow our local economy. Enterprise Florida (EFI) offers worthwhile grants and technical assistance to qualifying Wakulla businesses seeking markets in other countries.
Business Qualifications:
- Applicant must be located in Florida and registered as an active company with the Florida Division of Corporations at www.sunbiz.org.
- Must be in business for a minimum of two (2) years.
- Product(s) must be produced in the State of Florida. Services must be provided from a Florida location.
- Must have a commercial operation that consists of either an office, office/warehouse, or manufacturing facility.
- Product line or service must be considered viable in the target market as determined by the U.S. Commercial Service or Enterprise Florida. Services providers must be in one of these approved target sectors.
- Must be a small business (employing 1 – 500 employees) or comply with the SBA Size Standards gov/size-standards as a small business.
- A company can receive a maximum of three trade grants each year between July 1 and June 30 (EFI’s fiscal year) based on the end-date of the event, or the date of reimbursement for Export Marketing Plans and Website Localization Grants. Note: A company can receive one Export Marketing Plan Grant per lifetime, and two Website Localization Grants per lifetime.
- Other restrictions and exceptions may apply at the discretion of EFI.
Target Sector Trade Show Grants – Help cover the cost of exhibiting virtually or in-person at an international trade show. These reimbursable grants cover select participation fees and trade show booth costs.
Gold Key/Business Matchmaker Grants – New or infrequent exporters can meet virtually or in-person with pre-screened buyers, agents, and distributors in foreign markets. Reimbursable grants cover the cost of the matchmaker fee.
Export Marketing Plans – EFI and the Florida SBDC Network have partnered to assist qualified manufacturers and services providers in the creation of a customized plan to pinpoint the best countries for their products, develop the right entry strategies and promote their products abroad.
Florida Online Global – Globalize your business website for your target markets to grow export sales and brand. This reimbursable grant offsets development costs of international online marketing, search engine optimization, and social media strategies.
Export Finance – In collaboration with the Florida Export Finance Corporation, we can guide small and medium-sized companies to state and federal resources that can help finance your export transactions.
Certificates of Free Sale – EFI can prepare these required certificates for firms involved in the export of products manufactured in, or distributed from, the state of Florida.
For additional details, please visit enterpriseflorida.com/export-from-florida/trade-grants.
