Community & Economic Development Committee
January 27, 2025
Item (d)4 Economic Development Activities Quarterly Status Report Carlos Velazquez, Public Information Manager
Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs (OEDCA) Small Businesses Recognized as Community and Economic
Champions
November 2024
2 More than 300 entrepreneurs and partners
attended OEDCA’s annual National
Entrepreneurship Month event
November 18, 2024.
Nineteen small businesses were honored
with Business of the Year and Legacy
Business awards, recognizing businesses
for making a positive community and
economic impact in San José or having
been in operation for 30+ years.
May 2025: OEDCA’s Small Business Month
networking + resources event at City Hall.
OEDCA’s Workforce Development:
Helping Foster High Wage Jobs for All
work2future helps residents secure the skills and
coaching they need to find job, get a promotion, or start a new career.
Manufacturing Week highlighted the importance of the
manufacturing sector to our local and national economy. The week included tours of nine manufacturing
facilities for more than 550 students from eight
local high schools.
work2future and partners celebrated the completion of the first-ever California cohort of Semiconductor
Manufacturing Apprenticeships in December 2024.
Employers included Applied Materials, Enablence,
Infinera, and Western Digital. Oct. – Dec. 2024
3 Celebrating 50 Years of the City’s Foreign Trade Zone On November 19, 2024, the City Council
celebrated the 50th anniversary of San
José’s Foreign Trade Zone with
commendations to the 11 companies in the
program.
Foreign Trade Zone 18 includes San José
and all of Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz,
Scotts Valley and southern Alameda
County.
Foreign Trade Zone 18 accounts for $25.5B
in activity, $6.2B in exports and 30,000
employees, driving significant economic
growth and international trade.
4 November 2024
Working Together to Promote San José’s Small Businesses this Holiday Season
OEDCA collaborated with Team San José, the San José
Downtown Association and 12 other local business
associations on a holiday destination marketing and shop local campaign.
The Holiday San José campaign encouraged residents to explore San José and shop local during the holiday season. Holiday San José pages received more than 20,000 visits, surpassing last year’s total of 13,500.
Lunar New Year efforts:
Grand Century Mall / Vietnam Town Shopping Center in
Little Saigon
Lunar New Year – Tet Festival, Feb 7 – 9, 2025, Eastridge Shopping Center
Nov. – Dec. 2024
5 Two San José Business Neighborhoods Invest in Their Future Businesses in the Tully Road/Eastridge and Monterey
corridors celebrated the establishment of Business
Improvement Districts for their neighborhoods, the
first two in San José in more than 15 years.
Business Improvement Districts allow business
owners within a specific geographic area to organize
and collectively invest in services and improvements
that benefit the district – safety and beautification,
marketing and branding.
Potential for the two businesses districts to raise up to a total of $549,000 annually to reinvest in their
business neighborhoods.
December 2024
6 OEDCA Facilitates Increased Collaboration with AI Leader A Memorandum of Understanding between the City of San José and Nvidia was executed in December to leverage AI technologies for civic good, AI skills programs for residents and City staff, and establish a vibrant ecosystem for AI technologies in San José.
An accompanying Memorandum of Understanding between
Nvidia and SJSU will advance student success in
preparation for careers into AI-related fields.
Nvidia recently committed to lease 101K square feet in North San José.
March 17 – 21, 2025: GTC AI Conference in Downtown
San José.
7 December 2024
New Creative Ambassadors Selected to Champion Power of
Creative Expression
Creative Ambassadors serve a one-year term, producing a creative project that invites active participation from residents.
Photographer Miguel Ozuna, a look thru your lens
Painter/comic book artist Julie Cardenas, Stories
From Our Neighborhood
Arts collective More Más Marami, The Bay Area
Story Archive
Artist Steven “Nizzotes” Rubalcaba, Voices of the
Community
Artist, Mother Jessica Gutierrez, For the Mamas
Creative Ambassadors will help lead the 2025
WeCreate408 Campaign, a month-long creativity
challenge in April.
December 2024
8 Marketing Tips, Trainings and Resources for
Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs
Looking for business support? Try one of these FREE
upcoming small business workshops:
January 27 – 30 2025: Prosperity Lab’s “2025
Business Owner” webinar series;
January 29 2025: “Building a Business That Works”
online webinar;
February 4 2025: “Starting a Business: Write a
Business Plan” online webinar;
Free Legal Services for San José Small Business
Owners: Request an appointment online at
www.elevatecommunitycenter.org/legal.
January 2025
9 Community & Economic Development Committee
January 27, 2025
Item (d)4 Economic Development Activities Quarterly Status Report Carlos Velazquez, Public Information Manager
Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs (OEDCA)