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Miami: your first address in the Americas

By , founder lawyer trained at Charles University and the University of Miami Updated

One base. Three markets. A six‑hour time difference from Prague.1

Most European companies think of the United States as one market and Latin America as another. From Miami, they are the same trip. The region's airport and seaports link the US mainland with the Caribbean, Central America and South America, and more than half of Miami-Dade's residents were born outside the US.2 If you want to test the Americas without opening three offices, South Florida is where you start.

Czech Connect is based here. We help Czech and European companies decide whether Miami is the right first step, set up properly, and meet the people who matter.

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Dancing House, Prague, at night
The Dancing House, Prague
Miami skyline at dusk
Downtown Miami at dusk

A gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean

South Florida's position is not a slogan; it shows up in freight and flight data. Miami-Dade County describes itself as strategically located between the US, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America, and as a key trade and transportation node between Europe and that region.7

  • More flights to Latin America and the Caribbean than any other US airport. That is how Miami International Airport (MIA) describes itself.3
  • The Miami-Dade Beacon Council reports that MIA handles 82% of all air imports and 76% of air exports between the US and Latin America and the Caribbean.8
  • Port Everglades, in neighbouring Broward County, is ranked the 15th busiest container port in the US and runs 26 container services focused mainly on north-south trade with the Caribbean and Latin America.9
  • Florida's top export markets in 2025 included Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, alongside Canada and Germany.10

Top-ranked logistics on your doorstep

No. 1

US airport for freight in 2025: Miami International, with nearly 3.5 million tons of cargo3

South Florida logistics facilities and what their sources report
Facility What the source reports
Miami International Airport No. 1 US airport for freight in 2025 and No. 3 in the world, with nearly 3.5 million tons of cargo, up 13.6% on the year.3 55.3 million passengers in 2025.3 More than 35 all-cargo carriers.11 IATA Pharma Hub designation (2015) for temperature-sensitive shipments.11
PortMiami 1,115,058 TEUs in fiscal year 2025, the 11th year in a row above one million; 8.56 million cruise passengers, a port record.12 The county reports $61 billion in annual economic impact and 340,000+ jobs supported.12
Port Everglades Record 1,167,552 TEUs in fiscal year 2025 (preliminary).13
Foreign-Trade Zone No. 281 Covers Miami-Dade County and lets importers reduce, defer or eliminate US customs duties on goods stored, assembled or re-exported through the zone.14

European companies are already using Miami as their door to the Americas

  • Galderma (Switzerland) opened its US and Latin America headquarters in the city's Brickell district in 2026.15
  • FC Barcelona moved its Americas headquarters from New York to downtown Miami in 2025 to grow across the US and Latin America.16
  • MSC Group (Switzerland) opened a roughly $100 million North American headquarters for its cruise division in downtown Miami in January 2026, bringing more than 400 staff together in one place.17

One of the fastest-growing economies in the US

$1.83 trillion

Florida's nominal GDP in 2025, the fourth-largest of any US state18

  • Florida's economy reached about $1.83 trillion in nominal GDP in 2025, the fourth-largest of any US state after California, Texas and New York, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis data published by the St. Louis Fed.18 Florida TaxWatch notes that as a country it would be the world's 13th-largest economy, bigger than South Korea or Australia.19
  • No. 1 for new businesses. Florida ranked first among the 50 states and DC for business startups in 2025,19 and Miami-Dade was ranked the No. 1 US county for new small-business applications, with nearly 4,900 per 100,000 residents.20
  • People keep arriving. Florida's population grew from about 20.2 million to 23.5 million between 2015 and 2025,21 and Florida TaxWatch projects roughly 2.3 million more residents between 2026 and 2035, with about 895 more people moving in than out every day in 2026.19
  • Record investment. In 2025, more than 100 companies worked with the Miami-Dade Beacon Council to expand or relocate to Greater Miami, committing to 3,070 new jobs and a record $1.2 billion in new capital investment, according to the Beacon Council.22
  • Florida exported a record $79.1 billion of goods in 2025.10
  • Small businesses are the exporters here: according to the US Trade Representative, 94% of the 50,095 companies exporting from Florida in 2024 were small and medium-sized firms, and they generated 56.3% of the state's goods exports.10

A business climate that rewards setting up here

  • No state personal income tax. Florida's constitution prohibits a state tax on the income of residents who are natural persons (Article VII, Section 5), so a change would require a constitutional amendment approved by voters.4
  • Corporate income tax of 5.5% for tax years from 1 January 2022, with a $50,000 exemption, according to the Florida Department of Revenue.5
  • Czech citizens can qualify for the E-2 treaty investor visa. The US treaty with the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic entered into force on 19 December 1992 and applies to the Czech Republic as a separate state from 1 January 1993. It covers E-2 (investor) visas only, not E-1 (trader).6

Is Miami your door to the Americas?

Tell us about your company and we'll give you an honest answer.

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Industries where Czech strengths meet Miami demand

The Miami-Dade Beacon Council, the county's official economic development partnership, publishes these figures for its target industries:

  • Aviation and aerospace: 1,800+ aviation companies and 88,500+ jobs supported in the region.8 Aerospace is also one of the sectors where Czech Connect has helped companies enter the US.
  • Finance and fintech: more than 60 international banks in the Brickell financial district, which the Beacon Council calls the largest banking hub in the US outside New York City, plus 500+ fintech companies.23
  • Technology: 2,500+ startups and six active unicorns, with $2.77 billion of venture capital raised by the Miami–Fort Lauderdale region in 2024.24
  • Life sciences and healthcare: 1,000+ companies and 100,000+ jobs in the sector, per the Beacon Council.25
  • Trade and logistics, and creative industries complete the Beacon Council's list of target industries.26

A workforce that already speaks your customers' languages

75.3%

of Miami-Dade residents aged 5+ speak a language other than English at home27

  • 2.8 million people live in Miami-Dade County (2024), 54% of them born outside the US, and about two-thirds speak Spanish at home, according to the Beacon Council.2
  • 75.3% of Miami-Dade residents aged 5+ speak a language other than English at home, and 54.5% were born outside the US (2020–2024), per the US Census Bureau.27

An international business community that is used to newcomers

  • More than 100 foreign consulates, foreign trade offices and bi-national chambers of commerce are based in the region, according to Miami-Dade County.28 The Czech Republic is among them, through an honorary consular post (see below).
  • SelectFlorida is the state's official international commerce organisation, working with the Florida Department of Commerce on export assistance, trade missions and foreign direct investment.29
  • The Miami-Dade Beacon Council helps companies with site selection, talent and incentives.23
  • World Trade Center Miami, founded in 1971, runs trade missions and sector shows such as Aerospace Defense Americas and the Americas Food & Beverage Show.30

Your Czech connection in Miami

Czech Connect was founded in Miami in December 2020 by Jitka Putra, Prague-born and trained as a lawyer, who has made South Florida her home base.

  • Two law degrees on two continents: a Master's in Law from Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe,31 and an LLM from the University of Miami School of Law.
  • Hands-on business experience on both sides: corporate, IP and insolvency work at Prague law firms; Chief Legal & Operations Officer at a Miami startup; legal consultant at the University of Miami School of Law Startup Practicum, advising founders on entity formation, IP and contracts; Managing Director of a US family office, sourcing investments and managing investor relationships; and US market lead for a Czech biotech company.
  • Six years with the Czech consulate in Miami: Vice Consul at the Honorary Consulate of the Czech Republic in Miami from 2020 to 2026, and Honorary Consul since May 2026, as listed in Miami-Dade County's directory of consular offices.28
  • Founder of the Czech School in Miami (2023), a non-profit teaching children Czech language and culture and a meeting point for Czech and Slovak families in South Florida.32
  • Builds with AI. She designed the agentic AI tools that run the back office of the Honorary Consulate, and uses the same approach to help companies run lean US operations.

Over those years she has become the go-to Czech contact in South Florida: when people on the Czech side need something done here, she is often the first call.

The consular role is voluntary and separate from Czech Connect, and the consulate does not endorse any business.

How Czech Connect helps you land and grow

Czech Connect helps you put roots in the US, with a partner on the ground in South Florida and a native understanding of the Czech side. It is founder-led: you work directly with Jitka from the first call onwards, and she stays your single point of contact even when lawyers, accountants or banks are involved behind the scenes.

  1. Explore

    A first call to understand your product, your goals and whether South Florida is the right entry point. If another US region is a better fit, we will tell you.

  2. Prepare

    Market research and business development planning; introductions to lawyers, accountants and banks for company formation, legal and compliance, and tax.

  3. Land

    Getting you and your team situated in the city: relocation and set-up support, staffing and operations management, digital marketing strategy and IT set-up, including AI-agent-driven back-office processes so your US entity can run with a small team.

  4. Grow

    Access to US customers, operations partners and investors, US government programs and officials, funding opportunities, joint ventures and universities. Once your US base is running, Miami's links make Latin America and the Caribbean the natural next step.

We value discretion, so we never name our clients, and we keep our client base deliberately small. What we can say is that we have helped a select group of companies across technology, biotech, digital assets, manufacturing, aerospace, wholesale distribution and professional services gain a foothold in the US.

See our services

Questions we hear most

Is Miami only for companies targeting Latin America?

No. Build your US business first, in the same time zone as New York.1 Latin America and the Caribbean are next door when you are ready.

What taxes will I pay in Florida?

Florida has no state personal income tax.4 Corporate income tax is 5.5%, with a $50,000 exemption, according to the Florida Department of Revenue.5 We introduce you to a tax adviser for your specific case.

Can Czech citizens get a US investor visa?

Yes, the E-2 treaty investor visa. The treaty applies to the Czech Republic from 1 January 1993 and covers E-2 only, not E-1.6 We introduce the immigration lawyer and keep the process moving.

How far is Miami from Prague in time?

Six hours: Miami is on US Eastern Time and Prague on Central European Time. The gap is briefly five hours in March and October/November, when daylight-saving changes fall on different dates.1

The bottom line

Miami puts the US, Latin America and the Caribbean within one trip, in the same time zone as New York. Florida has no state personal income tax, and Czech owners can use the E-2 visa route. Czech Connect helps you decide whether it is the right first step.

Sources

  1. Time zones: Miami uses US Eastern Time and Prague uses Central European Time; the usual gap is 6 hours, briefly 5 hours in March and October/November when daylight-saving changes fall on different dates. https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html ↩
  2. Miami-Dade Beacon Council, Demographics (population 2.8 million in 2024; 54% foreign-born; ~66% speak Spanish at home): https://www.beaconcouncil.com/demographics/ ↩
  3. Miami International Airport news release, "Soaring cargo growth lifts MIA to #1 in the U.S., #3 in the world", 4 May 2026 (2025 cargo nearly 3.5 million tons, +13.6%; #1 US freight, #3 world; 55.3 million passengers; "more flights to Latin America and the Caribbean than any other U.S. airport"): https://news.miami-airport.com/soaring-cargo-growth-lifts-mia-to-1-in-the-us-3-in-the-world/ ↩
  4. Florida Constitution, Article VII, Section 5 (official text, The Florida Senate): https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Constitution ↩
  5. Florida Department of Revenue, Corporate Income Tax (5.5% on or after 1 January 2022; $50,000 exemption): https://floridarevenue.com/taxes/taxesfees/Pages/corporate.aspx ↩
  6. US Department of State, Treaty Countries table (Czech Republic: E-2, 1 January 1993; treaty with the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic in force 19 December 1992), checked 26 Sep 2026: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/fees/treaty.html ↩
  7. Miami-Dade County, Economic Data Snapshot, About Us (strategic location between the U.S., Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America; "a key trade and transportation node between Europe and this region of the world"): https://www.miamidade.gov/global/economy/innovation-and-economic-development/economic-metrics.page ↩
  8. Miami-Dade Beacon Council, Aviation & Aerospace (1,800+ aviation companies; 88,500+ jobs; MIA handles 82% of air imports and 76% of air exports with Latin America and the Caribbean): https://www.beaconcouncil.com/aviation-aerospace/ ↩
  9. Port Everglades, Cargo ("ranked the 15th busiest container port in the nation"; "26 cargo container services primarily focused on North-South trade with Caribbean and Latin American countries"), checked 26 Sep 2026: https://www.porteverglades.net/cargo/ ↩
  10. Office of the US Trade Representative, Florida trade data (2025 goods exports $79.1 billion; top markets Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Colombia; 50,095 exporting companies in 2024, 94% SMEs, 56.3% of export value): https://ustr.gov/countries-regions/united-states-trade-data/florida ↩
  11. Miami International Airport, Cargo Service Development (35-plus all-cargo carriers; IATA Pharma Hub 2015): https://www.miami-airport.com/home-cargo.asp ↩
  12. Miami-Dade County news release, PortMiami FY2025 results, 2 December 2025 (1,115,058 TEUs; 8,564,225 cruise passengers; $61 billion economic impact; 340,000+ jobs): https://www.miamidade.gov/global/release.page?Mduid_release=rel1764622080449470 ↩
  13. Port Everglades, "Port Everglades Shatters Its Own Records", December 2025 (FY2025 preliminary 1,167,552 TEUs): https://www.porteverglades.net/articles/post/port-everglades-shatters-its-own-records/ ↩
  14. PortMiami, Foreign Trade Zone 281: https://www.miamidade.gov/portmiami/foreign-trade-zone.page ; service-area expansion to all of Miami-Dade: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/03/2023-24357/reorganization-of-foreign-trade-zone-281-expansion-of-service-area-under-alternative-site-framework ↩
  15. Galderma, "Galderma opens new U.S. and Latin America headquarters in Miami" (2026): https://www.galderma.com/news/galderma-opens-new-us-and-latin-america-headquarters-miami ; announcement, 17 June 2025: https://www.galderma.com/news/galderma-establishes-new-us-headquarters-miami-and-strengthens-regional-leadership ↩
  16. FC Barcelona, "FC Barcelona Opens New Office in Miami to Strengthen Its Presence Across the Americas": https://www.fcbarcelona.com/en/club/news/4516807/fc-barcelona-opens-new-office-in-miami-to-strengthen-its-presence-across-the-americas ↩
  17. Florida YIMBY, "MSC Group Opens North American Cruise Division Headquarters at Block 55 at Sawyer's Walk", January 2026 (about $100 million; 400+ team members): https://floridayimby.com/2026/01/msc-group-opens-north-american-cruise-division-headquarters-at-block-55-at-sawyers-walk-in-downtown-miami.html ↩
  18. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED), Gross Domestic Product: All Industry Total in Florida, series FLNGSP (2025: $1,834,641.4 million, updated 9 April 2026): https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FLNGSP ↩
  19. Florida TaxWatch, "Florida Economic Forecast 2026-2035: Q1 2026", 11 June 2026 (13th-largest economy if a country; No. 1 of 50 states + DC for business startups in 2025; +2.3 million population 2026-2035; 895 net new residents per day in 2026): https://floridataxwatch.org/florida-economic-forecast-2026-2035-q1-2026/ ↩
  20. Miami-Dade County, Office of the Mayor, "Miami-Dade ranked #1 in nation for small business growth", 4 September 2025 (Clarify Capital report; nearly 4,900 business applications per 100,000 residents): https://www.miamidade.gov/global/release.page?Mduid_release=rel1757012694136149 ↩
  21. FRED, Resident Population in Florida, series FLPOP (2015: 20.22 million; 2025: 23.46 million): https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FLPOP ; 2025 state GDP comparison (CA $4.25T, TX $2.90T, NY $2.47T, FL $1.83T), series CANGSP, TXNGSP, NYNGSP, FLNGSP: https://fred.stlouisfed.org ↩
  22. Miami-Dade Beacon Council, record $1.2 billion in new capital investment, 29 January 2026 (100+ companies; 3,070 new jobs; average salary $86K): https://www.beaconcouncil.com/media/beacon-news/2026/miami-dade-beacon-council-reports-record-breaking-1-2-billion-in-new-capital-investment-and-bold-growth-agenda-for-decade-ahead/ ↩
  23. Miami-Dade Beacon Council, Finance (60+ international banks in Brickell; "largest banking hub in the U.S. outside of New York City"; 500+ fintech companies; business attraction, site selection and incentives): https://www.beaconcouncil.com/finance/ ↩
  24. Miami-Dade Beacon Council, Technology (2,500+ startups; 6 unicorns; $2.77 billion VC for Miami–Fort Lauderdale in 2024): https://www.beaconcouncil.com/technology/ ↩
  25. Miami-Dade Beacon Council, Life Sciences & Healthcare (1,000+ companies; 100k+ jobs): https://www.beaconcouncil.com/life-sciences-and-healthcare/ ↩
  26. Miami-Dade Beacon Council homepage, Target Industries (Aviation & Aerospace, Trade & Logistics, Finance, Technology, Creative Industries, Life Sciences & Healthcare), checked 26 Sep 2026: https://www.beaconcouncil.com/ ↩
  27. US Census Bureau QuickFacts, Miami-Dade County (language other than English at home 75.3%; foreign-born 54.5%; 2020-2024), checked 26 Sep 2026: https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/miamidadecountyflorida/POP815223 ↩
  28. Miami-Dade County, Consulates directory ("over 100 foreign consulates, foreign trade offices and bi-national chambers of commerce"; lists Czech Republic Honorary Consular Post, Honorary Consul Jitka Putra): https://www.miamidade.gov/global/government/international-trade/consulates.page ↩
  29. SelectFlorida, About: https://selectflorida.org/about/ ↩
  30. World Trade Center Miami: https://www.wtcmiami.org/ ↩
  31. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Charles University (founded 1348; the oldest university in central Europe): https://www.britannica.com/topic/Charles-University ; Charles University, history: https://cuni.cz/UKEN-298.html ↩
  32. Czech School in Miami: https://czechschoolmiami.com (founding year and description per owner); see also the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs note on the school, January 2025: https://mzv.gov.cz/jnp/en/foreign_relations/czechs_living_abroad/news_and_events/meeting_of_special_envoy_kratky_with.html ↩

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Ready to look at Miami seriously?

Tell us what you make, where you sell today and where you want to be in three years. We will reply with an honest view of whether Miami is your door to the Americas, and what we would do first.

Book an intro call