ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Entrepreneurs wanting to start or expand a business in South St. Petersburg can now access thousands of dollars from the city to help them grow.
The city has already selected the first 56 businesses to potentially benefit from their new South St. Petersburg Microfund Program.
The city has $1.35 million to give to business owners looking to start or expand businesses within the borders of the South St. Pete CRA zone.
At a business workshop Thursday night, representatives from the city said the entrepreneurs have to complete a business curriculum and will have access to mentorship and brand guidance.
“The grants can be up to $10,000 for brick and mortar, and if you’re a home-based business it can be up to $5,000,” said George Smith, the Economic Development officer for the city.
The CRA Microfund Program allows business owners to make "targeted improvements without providing any upfront capital or matching."
According to the city of St. Pete, the funding levels include:
- Existing Brick and Mortar - $10,000
- Existing Family Childcare - $10,000
- Existing Home-Based Business - $5,000
- Existing Shared Commercial Space - $5,000
- Early-Stage Startup - $2,500
Business owners at the meeting said they plan to take the knowledge they learn from the program and share it with others in the community.
The next cohort and application period is set for fall 2023. Anyone interested in learning more can visit stpete.org/microfund.
After the South St. Petersburg CRA Microfund Program was first announced back in May, the city has now selected 56 small businesses in the first cohort and met with business owners at a “Launch Night” event last week.
City leaders say some highlights of the Microfund Program for anyone interested in the program are the following:
- The Microfund is a no-match program.
- The Program offers personalized capacity building through increased education, mentoring, and networking in exchange for CRA funding so business owners can make targeted and planful improvements without having to provide upfront capital.
- Cohort will be given up to 45 business days to complete the assigned capacity-building curriculum which may require up to 15 hours of attendance and/or engagement.
- Program periods are expected to recur upon the completion of each cohort, approximately every four months.
- Following the completion of the first Cohort, the program will be reviewed for effectiveness, and modifications will be implemented as needed.
10 Tampa Bay's Courtney Holland contributed to this report.