FLORIDA/NASA BUSINESS INCUBATION CENTER
TO OPEN NEW SITE IN JACKSONVILLE

TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Tom Rainey, director of the Florida/NASA Business Incubation Center, recently announced that an agreement has been signed with Jacksonville, Fla.-based Enterprise North Florida Corporation to open the first technology business incubation facility within the northeast Florida region. The Jacksonville, Fla. facility, named the First Coast Technology Enterprise Center, will give emerging local technology companies access to the tools and resources they need to successfully launch and operate their businesses.

Specifically, the Technological Research and Development Authority (TRDA), which manages the FNBIC, provided Enterprise North Florida Corporation with $300,000 in NASA funding to build a Jacksonville, Fla. incubation facility. 
Enterprise North Florida Corporation then secured matching funds from local sponsors to complete the funding process.

"This new incubator is going to provide infrastructure for small high-tech businesses within the Jacksonville area," Rainey said. "It is going to serve as the catalyst in assisting more entrepreneurs in following their dreams and launching their own technology-based businesses," he added.

The First Coast Technology Enterprise Center will provide emerging technology businesses with a broad range of services from technical assistance and high speed Internet access to business support and accounting services. Technology Enterprise Center staff will specifically tailor services to meet the needs of start-up companies and increase the probability of their commercial success. One of the most important services provided to tenant companies will be streamlined access to sources of investment capital. Enterprise North Florida will utilize its close ties with sources of early-stage investment capital to directly enhance the ability of start-up companies to obtain critical financial support. Officials with Enterprise North Florida Corporation are now in the process of selecting the future site of First Coast Technology Enterprise Center.

“The funding provided by TRDA is the critical support we needed to get this facility up and running,” said Al Rossiter, president and chief executive officer of Enterprise North Florida Corporation. “Combined with the support of our region’s business community, economic development organizations, academic institutions and governmental agencies, this funding will ensure the success of the first technology incubation facility in northeast Florida,” he added.
 
The FNBIC, which opened in 1996, seeks to encourage and stimulate technology-based, small business formulation, growth and success in Brevard County. The incubator provides affordable space and shared office equipment and services, thereby reducing many of the costs associated with establishing and operating a small business. The program is managed through a joint partnership of Florida’s TRDA, NASA/Kennedy Space Center and Brevard Community College.