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/ Wednesday, May 4, 2022
This is just the beginning. We are beginning to see some 200+ Puerto Rican businesses in Central Florida. Jerry L. Demings Mayor, Orange County
Orange County and Puerto Rico Support Innovation through Collaborating The city of Orlando holds cultural and economic value for the island
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Zoe Landi Fontana, The Weekly Journal
t’s widely known that Puerto Rico and Florida have a significant cultural overlap. To start off, “they’re tied together by history and family,” pointed out Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings. Indeed, in 1513 conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon, Puerto Rico’s first governor, “discovered” Florida. Thus began three centuries of Spanish colonial rule, intertwining the fates of Florida and Puerto Rico together. In the present day, it may appear as if the flow of influence between Florida and Puerto Rico is onedirectional (i.e. Puerto Rico to Florida), observed in migration patterns, pop culture trends, and businesses - reguetoneros sing as much about Miami as they do Condado. The sunshine state, however, has its own value propositions for the island.
Orlando’s Business Environment
There are 1.4 million people in Orange County, Florida, whose county seat is the city of Orlando. Each week, an additional 1,000 new residents claim the central Florida county as their new home. It’s a rapidly growing region, attracting people from other states and internationally. The region is undergoing significant improvements in its transit systems to ensure success and manage growth. Finding efficient and equitable ways to move people around such as a commuter rail to connect the Orlando International Airport to Miami - is necessary to remain competitive with other big cities in the U.S. Orlando facilitates business growth with
omnichannel methods to provide entrepreneurial According to Mayor Demings, the food services, support. The National Entrepreneur Center is a technology, financial services, and the life and one-stop small business solution, an in-person health sciences industries are ideal candidates hub for receiving business support and access for expansion into Orlando. “[The] Puerto Rican to computers and other technology. BizLink diaspora, many of them depend upon connection Orange is an online resource to the island to keep traditional that puts entrepreneurs in food. That is an emerging contact with business assistance industry that, I think, is ripe for organizations. Then there’s 311 import and export,” explained - the telephone number you can Demings. call for business guidance. Within the life and health “This is just the beginning. We sciences, Demings elaborated, are beginning to see some 200“The opportunity is there to plus Puerto Rican businesses in improve the health of all of our Central Florida. We are beginning residents. Historically, there have to see business opportunities been health inequities among emerge and the broad base of people of color, so I see [the prosperity improve among our expansion of health services] as Puerto Rican friends - that’s a tremendous opportunity,” how you are able to transfer Salud Integral de la Montaña generational wealth, [by] holding (SIM) is one such Puerto Rican something that is transferable. company taking advantage [The] major investments we have of the beneficial relationship is in our home, in real estate - I’d between the island and Orange Orange County Mayor Jerry L. say buy more of it, invest more County. SIM recently purchased Demings. in it, and the returns on those property on West Colonial Drive things can be significant,” Mayor in Orlando to expand its network Demings commented to THE WEEKLY JOURNAL. of health centers. As a destination, the county’s tourism levels “We plan to expand to different areas - like are returning to pre-pandemic levels, the Orlando Tampa and Jacksonville - so we can open a International Airport is the seventh busiest in both second and third clinic,” Dr. Gloria del C. Amador the U.S. and globally, and they’re in the running to Fernández, President and CEO of SIM, said to THE host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. WEEKLY JOURNAL. As the business grows in Florida, SIM will make the most of the two talent pools where it’s located. Advantages For Puerto Rico Businesses “[We will] export technologies and services from Orange County, and specifically Orlando, is an Orlando to Puerto Rico. The main administrative ideal place in which Puerto Rico businesses can services and providers are going to be provided expand. With a 32.7% Hispanic population, Puerto Rico’s bilingual capabilities are a huge advantage in from Puerto Rico to Orlando. [Then] we will be importing services from Orlando to Puerto Rico to accessing all the city’s markets. There are already help us expand in other areas,” said Dr. Amador 500,000 Puerto Ricans and 200 Puerto Rican Fernández. companies in central Florida.
