The Small Business Development Center, part of the College of Business Administration, has launched the Growth Acceleration Program (GAP), for small businesses as part of a $2.6 million grant received by the Florida SBDC Network.

The program targets small to medium enterprises to support the creation and retention of jobs for Central Floridians by providing individualized, professional consultant services to growing businesses.

Specifically, the SBDC at UCF GAP consultants will help develop sustainable growth strategies including strategic plan development, assessing and accessing capital, determining market diversification tactics and shoring up financial practices and financial institutional relationships. Qualifications for GAP include: goal of growth; in operation for at least three years; annual revenues of $500k to $10 million; and five or more employees.

The SBDC at UCF’s GAP is a FSBDCN state-wide initiative from which the funding came as a key provision of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, which provided $50 million in grants to Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) across the country. The FSBDC is a partnership program funded in part by the U.S. Small Business Administration and local and regional host partners, including Florida’s state universities and colleges.

For more information about the SBDC at UCF GAP Program, contact Eunice Choi at (407) 420-4850 or echoi@bus.ucf.edu. You can learn more about the SBDC by visiting their website.