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Upper Marlboro, MD – Yesterday, Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker, III, announced that the County’s Economic Development Incentive Fund (EDIF) invested $2.4 million into six County businesses who in turn invested $26 million to grow their business.  The announcement took place at Vocus, Inc. a leading marketing and public relations software company located in Beltsville, Maryland.  The County Executive was joined for the announcement by Council Member Mary A. Lehman (D-District 1), Prince George’s Delegation Chair Jolene Ivey (D – 47th Legislative District), and representatives of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation (PGEDC) and Financial Services Corporation (FSC First), along with other business leaders.

“In its first months of full operation, our Economic Development Incentive Fund is paying dividends for the County in the form of private investment, growth in our tax base, and job creation and retention,” said Baker. The 50 million dollar EDI Fund  is our ‘Wow Factor’.  It has become a powerful signal of the County’s economic power, signifying to the region and beyond that our doors are open for business.”

The Economic Development Incentive Fund (EDIF) has proven to be an invaluable resource for the Prince George’s County business community. PGCEDC began accepting applications for the fund on March 1, 2012. Since its launch date, the fund has further validated the need for local businesses to have access to capital in order to grow, compete and succeed. The fund has also helped the County compete with its neighboring jurisdictions for companies looking to locate/relocate to the Washington DC metropolitan area.

The six projects that have FAC/Council approval are: The Hampton Inn, Information Management Services (IMS), Little Caesars Pizza (two sites), Man and Machine, Nash Finch, and Vocus, Inc. The $2,410,000 requested amount for these six approved applications will help generate 358 new jobs, retain 627 jobs, and will leverage $700,000 in State of Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) funds, and most importantly, $26 million in private investment.

“Thanks to the EDI Fund, we can point to almost 1000 jobs that we were able to retain, create, and add to the County in roughly half a year as a result of this new program.  That’s pretty impressive and more are in the pipelines.” said Baker.  “We have come out the gate strong, but we want to do better by speeding up the process so that companies can begin expanding their businesses sooner.  The more companies apply, the more investments we can make.  The more investments we make, the more our County’s commercial tax base grows and we increase revenues to improve our schools, health, and safety.”

For additional information about the Economic Development Incentive Fund, see the PGEDC’s website at pgcedc.com, or call 301 583 4601.