Tampa's local entrepreneurs in low to moderate income communities have a new reason to gear up for business success. The City of Tampa has rolled out the Tampa Entrepreneur Support Hub, funded by the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Serving microenterprises and small businesses, this initiative aims to provide necessary supports including business incubator services, technical assistance, and scale-up services designed to propel these businesses forward.
A unique facet of the program is the opportunity for qualified owners to receive a microgrant upon successful completion, which could serve as a financial springboard for further growth. The eligibility for participation covers businesses with fewer than five employees—known as "microenterprises"—to those small businesses with up to 99 employees. Direct prerequisites stipulate that the owner or person developing a new microenterprise must be Low to Moderate Income (LMI) and both established microenterprises and persons developing a new venture must be within the Tampa city limits, as per the City of Tampa's release.
The partnered entities to facilitate these services are not novice to the needs of burgeoning businesses. The Tampa Bay Women's Business Centre will oversee the incubation services through its Startup Academy. Meanwhile, technical assistance for microenterprises will be a collaborative effort of the Tampa Bay Women’s Business Centre and the Florida Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the University of South Florida. The Florida SBDC at USF will also extend its growth acceleration services to help small businesses scale up.
Interested entrepreneurs can reach out for more information or to schedule a consultation through the City of Tampa's Small Business Navigator. This outreach opens the conversation about what the program offers and how it aligns with an enterprise's unique needs. For a more in-depth understanding, media has the opportunity to hear insights from City of Tampa's Economic Opportunity Director Javier Marin, as well as interview representatives from the Tampa Bay Women's Business Centre and Florida's Small Business Development Center, according to a release on the City of Tampa's official website.
