Tampa Bay Export Alliance hosts another successful export mission in Dominican Republic


December 15, 2016



The regional international cooperative effort, Tampa Bay Export Alliance (TBEA), led an export sales mission with nearly 40 delegates in the beginning of December to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This mission was a first for Pasco Economic Development Council, which recently joined the Tampa Hillsborough EDC and Pinellas County Economic Development as part of TBEA.

photo-dec-06-18-44-34The mission focused heavily on export opportunities, and 13 companies, ranging from pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers to educational service providers, participated in the Gold Key track.

TBEA kicked off the mission on Monday, December 5th with a welcome dinner, where the delegation was able to network and meet trade specialists from the U.S. Commercial Service (USCS). The following day started bright and early with an official commercial briefing on the Dominican Republic by the USCS. The 13 Gold Key companies had a full day of one-on-one meetings with potential clients before attending a welcome reception at the residence of U.S. Ambassador Wally Brewster.

The mission closed out with another full agenda, including a site visit to the Foreign Trade Zone and a regional briefing held at the U.S. Embassy on business opportunities with other Caribbean countries, including the Bahamas, Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago.

“The trip was a big success,” said Scott Grisack, owner of Symmetry Office, a Gold Key participant. “We had a plan to begin exporting and [TBEA] helped make that a reality. They arranged well-qualified appointments with real buyers on our mission trip to the Dominican Republic that would have taken us months to find on our own.”

Various events during the mission were sponsored by Port Tampa Bay, Tampa International Airport, Pasco Economic Development Council, and Enterprise Florida

“We’re thrilled to have been part of another successful Tampa Bay Export Alliance mission,” said Craig Richard, Tampa Hillsborough EDC’s President and CEO. “This initiative is imperative to Tampa Bay’s journey to becoming one of the world’s top business destinations.”

For more information on TBEA, please visit www.tampabayexportalliance.com.

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