Emerging business opportunities are thriving in Puerto Rico.
Originally published on the March/April 2022 Issue of Business Facilities.
Puerto Rico’s business landscape is growing like no other. The 100 x 35-mile-wide island features a robust biosciences sector with more than 60+ years of experience, and the Caribbean location puts it at the intersection of important international trade routes. Moreover, as a U.S. jurisdiction, travel from and to the states is seamless and currency, laws, and regulations are familiar and reliable.
The island offers an emergent business environment that is flourishing due to its highly engaged entrepreneurial ecosystem. Companies and entrepreneurs located on the island have access to diversified assets, a talented, bilingual workforce, and smart incentives that make it a top choice for game-changing enterprises looking to grow their respective industries. Beyond its excellence in bioscience, manufacturing, aerospace, and professional services spaces, Puerto Rico continues to attract a new audience of business leaders in trailblazing fields, such as cybersecurity, fintech, cell & gene therapy, and others.
According to Rodrick Miller, CEO of Invest Puerto Rico, the island’s economic development organization, “Puerto Rico poses great opportunities for businesses that want to invest. The island’s tax incentive code covers every industry, and almost 95% of Puerto Rico qualifies as a federally designated opportunity zone.”
Puerto Rico’s preparedness to boost emerging sectors stems from a support network of incubators, accelerators, investment funds, and other initiatives. “We are primed to serve the realities of the global and local market to leverage the island’s assets,” Miller added. To that end, Puerto Rico targets leaders, investors, and innovators who seek to achieve new goals, expand their investment capabilities, and develop their business in a destination that generates social and economic impact.”
Michael Gay, InvestPR’s chief business development officer, is enthusiastic about Puerto Rico’s present and immediate future and what it means to businesses. He offers as examples the forthcoming “landing pads” for visionary entrepreneurs in the field of innovation: the Science District in San Juan, the University of Puerto Rico’s Molecular Sciences and Research Center, also known as The Cube, as well as OcyonBio serving gene & cell therapy and biologics. This also includes the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico, which acts as an incubator for several innovative companies, specifically cybersecurity.
The Science District is a Puerto Rico-wide network of state-of-the-art facilities for research, academic, and business initiatives that advance knowledge and innovation. Its major component is Science City, a mixed-use project of 69 acres located in San Juan, in a dense concentration of hospitals, universities, and other science and technology resources. For its part, The Cube is a 152,000-square-foot advanced research facility with a vivarium and laboratories for conducting basic and translational biomedical research. It currently houses over 300 researchers, students, and technicians.
While the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico offers new ventures, including 7 Eagle Group’s Cyber Security Operations Center, the place to train and employ over 200 military veterans in this growing field. OcyonBio is a process development manufacturing facility serving gene & cell therapy, biologic startups, and second-stage companies with new innovative therapeutics and medical innovations.
The story of how Puerto Rico can empower cutting-edge investors continues. Discover how the island’s human capital with deep-rooted expertise within key sectors at a more affordable capacity, established business-friendly environment, access to viable incentives, quality of life, and collaborative culture can give businesses the upper hand.
