Business collaBoration Between Pr and Florida

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

Zoe Landi Fontana, The Weekly Journal

It’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 support. The National Entrepreneur Center is a one-stop small business solution, an in-person hub for receiving business support and access to computers and other technology. BizLink Orange is an online resource that puts entrepreneurs in contact with business assistance organizations. Then there’s 311 - the telephone number you can call for business guidance. “This is just the beginning. We are beginning to see some 200plus Puerto Rican businesses in Central Florida. We are beginning to see business opportunities emerge and the broad base of prosperity improve among our Puerto Rican friends - that’s how you are able to transfer generational wealth, [by] holding something that is transferable. [The] major investments we have is in our home, in real estate - I’d say buy more of it, invest more in it, and the returns on those things can be significant,” Mayor Demings commented to THE WEEKLY JOURNAL. As a destination, the county’s tourism levels are returning to pre-pandemic levels, the Orlando International Airport is the seventh busiest in both the U.S. and globally, and they’re in the running to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Advantages For Puerto Rico Businesses

Orange County, and specifically Orlando, is an ideal place in which Puerto Rico businesses can expand. With a 32.7% Hispanic population, Puerto Rico’s bilingual capabilities are a huge advantage in accessing all the city’s markets. There are already 500,000 Puerto Ricans and 200 Puerto Rican companies in central Florida. According to Mayor Demings, the food services, technology, financial services, and the life and health sciences industries are ideal candidates for expansion into Orlando. “[The] Puerto Rican diaspora, many of them depend upon connection to the island to keep traditional food. That is an emerging industry that, I think, is ripe for import and export,” explained Demings. Within the life and health sciences, Demings elaborated, “The opportunity is there to improve the health of all of our residents. Historically, there have been health inequities among people of color, so I see [the expansion of health services] as a tremendous opportunity,” Salud Integral de la Montaña (SIM) is one such Puerto Rican company taking advantage of the beneficial relationship between the island and Orange County. SIM recently purchased property on West Colonial Drive in Orlando to expand its network

of health centers. “We plan to expand to different areas - like Tampa and Jacksonville - so we can open a second and third clinic,” Dr. Gloria del C. Amador Fernández, President and CEO of SIM, said to THE WEEKLY JOURNAL. As the business grows in Florida, SIM will make the most of the two talent pools where it’s located. “[We will] export technologies and services from Orlando to Puerto Rico. The main administrative services and providers are going to be provided from Puerto Rico to Orlando. [Then] we will be importing services from Orlando to Puerto Rico to help us expand in other areas,” said Dr. Amador Fernández.

Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings.