CUD Commercial Bridge Tampa to promote business exchange
Speakers include leaders from Tampa, Orlando and Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico’s United Retailers Association (CUD, in Spanish) announced that the CUD Commercial Bridge Tampa event will be held for the first time in its namesake Florida city. The goal is to promote economic development and commercial exchange between Hispanic entrepreneurs from Puerto Rico and Tampa.
The free event will take place Thursday, Aug. 8 at the Hillsborough Community City in Ybor City starting with a networking session at 8:30 a.m., followed by presentations from 9 a.m. to noon by experts and leaders from government entities in Tampa and Puerto Rico.
CUD President Lourdes M. Aponte-Rodríguez encouraged “the entire Hispanic community in the Tampa area and its surroundings to take part in this event, which will provide them with the necessary information for their plans to open and expand between both regions.”
Speakers include leaders from Tampa, Orlando, and Puerto Rico: Maribel Garrett, community outreach coordinator for the City of Tampa; Bonnie Yauilla, business diversity specialist for Tampa International Airport; Hector Bauzá, president of the Puerto Rican National Chamber of Commerce; Horacio Maysonet, CEO of Cyber Security Solutions; and Dagmari Melendez, president of Accounting Express de Puerto Rico.
Additional speakers are Jorge Cruz, CEO of Marketing Innovations Group; José Bello, community outreach officer for Encore Bank; Brett Simons, international business manager for the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council; and Diana Walker, special projects coordinator for Minority and Small Business Economic Development for Hillsborough County.
“The hope is to serve as a bridge for entrepreneurs in their desire to grow and take their businesses to the next level, taking advantage of the resources and incentives offered by the city of Tampa, Hillsborough County and Puerto Rico,” the San Juan-based organization stated.
This is the second event in as many months that the CUD holds in Florida. In June, it hosted the CUD Business Journey 2024 in Orlando, which gathered entrepreneurs from several sectors of Florida and Puerto Rico at the GuideWell Innovation Center in Orlando.
