Focus industries

Through One Community One Goal (OCOG) strategy, Miami-Dade's business, education and civic leaders are united in their efforts to diversify Miami-Dade's economy by focusing these target industries: Aviation, Banking & Finance, Creative Design, Hospitality & Tourism, Technology & Innovation, Life Sciences & Healthcare, and Trade & Logistics.

Aviation

One of the world’s busiest hubs for domestic and international air travelers and cargo, Miami International Airport (MIA) has more flights to Latin America and the Caribbean than any other U.S. airport, as well as direct connections to Canada, Mexico, Europe and the Middle East. MIA is served by a network of more than 300 freight forwarders and customs brokers, and supported by a one-stop Cargo Clearance Center with 24-hour service.

Miami-Dade County has attracted leading MRO (maintenance, repair and operations) providers from around the world, as well as companies offering aviation-related services, such as flight simulators and pilot training. To take just one example, Boeing Flight Services recently expanded operations and now Miami-Dade County is the largest flight training facility in their global network.

Banking and Finance

Banks and financial services companies like Visa and PayPal are investing in Miami-Dade County. Known as the financial capital of Latin America, Miami-Dade has the largest concentration of domestic and international banks on the East Coast south of New York City.

Private banking, wealth management and trade finance are important components of the region’s financial sector, attracting institutions from Europe, Latin America and Canada serving individual, family and business customers. Miami-Dade’s domestic banking system also is thriving in keeping with the region’s economic vitality.

Creative design

With mega T.V. production facilities, such as Univision, renowned fashion designers, such as Rene Ruiz well-known brands such as Perry Ellis International and Eberjey,” high-profile fashion shows like “Swim Week” and renowned art shows like Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County has captured the attention of the international creative design community.

One of the region’s key assets is a talented multilingual pool of creative professionals who can connect with consumers in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian and many other languages. To help sustain and grow the Creative Design industry, Miami-Dade County is home to Miami International University of Art & Design, a 4-year university dedicated to training and educating the future leaders of the fashion and media industry.

Miami-Dade County is also home to a burgeoning contemporary art scene as seen throughout Wynwood and Midtown and our community is home to one of the largest luxury market retail projects in the U.S., the Miami Design District by DACRA.

Thanks to that diversity and a solid infrastructure for producing and distributing creative work, Miami-Dade attracts leading-edge film, fashion, architecture, engineering, advertising, public relations and marketing firms.

Hospitality and Tourism

With its appealing combination of beaches, nightlife, restaurants, shopping, golf, tennis and national parks, Miami-Dade is one of the world’s top urban resorts. It also is a favored location for business meetings, sales events and trade shows, including high-profile diplomatic and hemispheric events.

For the past three years, Miami-Dade has welcomed a record number of overnight visitors, reaching 13.9 million in 2012, a 3.5 percent increase from the prior year, according to the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. Those visitors spent a record $21.8 billion, up 5.1 percent over 2011.

Technology and Innovation

Miami-Dade enjoys a thriving technology sector, ranging from entrepreneurial startups, including Kairos, LearnerNation, CareCloud and Open English, to regional businesses and Fortune 500 companies. The local industry encompasses businesses engaged in the following sectors: digital media, logistics technology, data centers, back office support technology, simulation technology, mobile applications, computational science technology, and tourism technology. In keeping with this fast-moving industry, professionals take advantage of the increasing number of networking events and conferences that bring together entrepreneurs, investors and support professionals seeking to capitalize on new products and services.

One of Miami-Dade County’s strategic advantages is the NAP of the Americas, one of the world’s few Tier-1 network access points and a high-speed connection for data, voice and video traffic throughout the Americas and Europe. Other data centers include Telefonica USA, ColoHouse, QTS and Miami Data Vault.

Life Sciences & Healthcare

Since the 1950s, Miami-Dade’s entrepreneurial climate has nurtured successful biomedical, medical device and pharmaceutical companies. Today, Miami-Dade is home to industry leaders such as Beckman Coulter, BD Biosciences, Cordis (a Johnson & Johnson Company) and Merck. A major new asset for the region is the University of Miami’s Life Science Park, a catalyst that will bring faculty, scientists, students and entrepreneurs together to encourage collaboration and innovation.

Located in Miami’s Health District, which includes the University’s Miller School of Medicine, six hospitals and numerous specialty care centers, the park will eventually encompass up to 2 million square feet dedicated to supporting this sector. Florida International University’s College of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering program, as well as Miami Dade College’s life science education programs contribute to the region’s workforce and research capabilities.

Trade and Logistics

A strategic location for serving the Americas, unsurpassed air, sea and data connections, and a skilled multicultural workforce are among the key reasons trade and logistics companies choose Miami-Dade for their regional or global facilities. Ryder Systems, Inc., which was founded in Miami more than 75 years ago, is currently a Fortune 500 company with advanced logistics services that cover the globe.

Companies from virtually every region of the world are represented in Miami-Dade’s international trade and logistics community. Japan’s Crystal Mover Services, Inc., a specialized operations and maintenance organization, recently established its U.S. headquarters in Miami-Dade, as did Uni Logistics America, LLC, one of the top 10 private international freight forwarding companies in China.