Fort Myers CRA Job Creation Program: 17 candidates, possible $81,000 total to business

The Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency Job Creation and Talent Attraction Program, a grant available to businesses in targeted industries, has welcomed a total of 17 candidates and a possible total of $81,000 to be issued to companies in targeted industries since the program’s adoption in December 2018.

On December 11, 2019, at the CRA Board of Commissioners meeting, new applications for the program participation were accepted from two businesses located in the Downtown redevelopment area. Cigent Technologies, Inc., enrolled four software developers into the program. FieldEdge, also known as dESCO, LLC, enrolled a Senior Manager/Cloud and Infrastructure Services, Enterprise Sales Engineer, Customer Success Manager, and Junior Software Engineer into the program. Together, these two companies have accounted for all the applications approved for the program.

Both businesses are in one of the grant program’s targeted industries, software, computing and technology. Cigent Technologies, Inc., is a cybersecurity technology company that identifies a potential breach or attack, initiates countermeasures, and locks down critical data, ensuring attackers never reach it. Their elite team has backgrounds in National Security Agency (NSA)-level intelligence, ethical hacking, and data recovery. FieldEdge is a leading, vertical Software as a Service (SaaS) business that enables field service contractors to run their small businesses with ease, save time and make more money through targeted marketing and improved resource use.

This program is consistent with meeting redevelopment objectives, specifically economic development in commercial and business activity, as well as business retention and recruitment. Companies that have high-growth potential and create high-wage jobs are critical to the City’s economic vitality, because when new employees with high-wage jobs are hired, this action generates a positive economic impact in areas such as housing, dining, retail, and entertainment.

The Fort Myers CRA is actively seeking additional businesses in targeted industries to apply for the program. Targeted industries include research and development; light assembly, packaging and fabrication; software, computing and technology; light manufacturing; and general office.