Title:
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Approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the Economic Incentive Partnership Agreement between Seminole County Government and Prospera Initiatives, Inc., in the amount of $60,000 for the purpose of providing bilingual assistance to entrepreneurs seeking to establish or expand their businesses in Seminole County. Countywide (Gui Cunha, Director, Office of Economic Development & Tourism)
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Division:
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Office of Economic Development and Tourism - Economic Development
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Authorized By:
Gui Cunha, Director, Office of Economic Development and Tourism
Contact/Phone Number:
Gui Cunha/407-665-2901
Background:
Prospera Initiatives, Inc., (“Prospera”), is an economic development, Florida Not for Profit organization specializing in providing bilingual assistance to entrepreneurs trying to establish or expand their businesses.
Prospera empowers entrepreneurs through training, support, and resources so their businesses can grow and prosper. Prospera is able to serve entrepreneurs and the community, without charging for its services, thanks to investments in its mission by generous corporations, individuals, and government agencies.
A variety of economic development performance standards are outlined in the Agreement, all related to the goal of supporting Seminole County with diversification and expansion of the local economy.
Services provided by Prospera include:
- Providing bilingual business technical assistance to small businesses in Seminole County;
- Utilizing, whenever possible, Seminole County businesses as the subcontractor for providing professional services to businesses in Seminole County;
- Providing an annual report which shall include, but not be limited to, recommendations relative to the continuing development and operation of Prospera;
- Providing quarterly reports which shall include, but not be limited to, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including the number of workshops delivered in Seminole County including location with topic and number of participants, number of one-on-one in-person coaching or mentoring sessions to Seminole County businesses, including business name, industry and jurisdiction of business, providing information pertinent to any other performance indicators such as loans marketed, jobs created and retained, and new business startups;
- Providing monthly web conferences with the Economic Development Team sharing information on some of the above-mentioned KPIs;
- Providing a verbal report annually to the Board of County Commissioners.
The funding request is $60,000 for FY2027. This amount has been budgeted within the County's Economic Development budget.
Requested Action:
Staff requests that the Board approve and authorize the Chairman to execute the Economic Incentive Partnership Agreement between Seminole County Government and Prospera Initiatives, Inc., in the amount of $60,000 for the purpose of providing bilingual assistance to entrepreneurs seeking to establish or expand their businesses in Seminole County.