What Augusta Economic Development Authority does

The Augusta Economic Development Authority (AEDA) is the statutorily designated economic development agency for Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia. It operates as a public government authority with a lean staff of approximately 6-7 employees led by President Cal Wray, Vice President Michael Norris, and a governing board chaired by Wayne Gossage. AEDA's core function is to serve as the single point of contact for businesses evaluating Augusta as a location, coordinating across Economic Development, Planning, Building, Engineering, Fire, Police, Utilities, and IT departments through a unified "Strike Team" model that compresses permitting and site-selection timelines.

AEDA's product suite is service-based rather than software-based. It includes Industrial Revenue Bond (IRB) financing (where AEDA holds title to assets and leases them back to the issuer), tax abatement programs of up to ~50%, the $4,000-per-job state tax credit administered locally, 100% Freeport inventory exemption, site selection assistance via a GIS property database (augustaga.giswebtechguru.com), and coordination with Georgia Quick Start for customized workforce training. The organization does not charge fees to businesses; funding flows from consolidated Augusta-Richmond County appropriations, state grants (e.g., $2.5M OneGeorgia Authority grant in April 2025 for workforce housing infrastructure), and partner contributions.

AEDA targets eight verticals: Advanced Manufacturing, Aerospace, Chemical Manufacturing, Food Manufacturing, Customer Service/BPO, Cybersecurity & Data Centers, Logistics, and Real Estate Development. Recent headline wins include GF Casting Solutions ($184M+, 350 jobs, 2024), Syensqo PVDF battery materials facility (100 jobs, 2024), Aurubis ($340M, 125 jobs, 2021), and StandardAero expansion. Distribution is direct enterprise field sales through project managers, with a senior leadership team averaging 15+ years of economic development experience, supported by partnerships with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Georgia Power, Georgia Ports Authority, Augusta University, and Augusta Technical College.

Name

Augusta Economic Development Authority

Legal name

Augusta Economic Development Authority

Website

https://augustaeda.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Augusta Economic Development Authority is a public government agency for Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia, that recruits, retains, and expands businesses by coordinating site selection, Industrial Revenue Bond financing, tax abatement packages, and a multi-department Strike Team permitting service across eight target verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Augusta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Industrial Revenue Bond Financing: AEDA acts as the bonding agency for Revenue Bonds to finance industrial, hospitality, educational, medical, technology and other related investments. Title to assets is deeded to AEDA and leased to the company.
2. Government Funding: Publicly funded economic development authority providing services to Augusta-Richmond County

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Augusta Economic Development Authority (AEDA) is a government economic development authority that serves as the single point of contact for site selectors, domestic and international businesses, and local partners seeking to locate, expand, or retain operations in Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia. AEDA offers site selection assistance, Industrial Revenue Bond (IRB) financing as the bonding agency, tax abatement and incentive programs, an AEDA Strike Team that convenes multiple city departments (planning, building, engineering, fire, police, utilities, IT), and workforce training coordination through Georgia Quick Start.

Product overview

The Augusta Economic Development Authority (AEDA) offers a unified suite of economic development services rather than a software product platform. The core offering consists of business attraction and recruitment services, industrial revenue bond financing, tax abatement programs, site selection assistance, and the AEDA Strike Team multi-department coordination service. Additional services include Georgia Quick Start workforce training coordination and a property search database accessible via external GIS tools. These services work together to help companies locate, expand, and succeed in Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Industrial Revenue Bond (IRB) Financing The Authority serves as the bonding agency for Revenue Bonds to finance industrial, hospitality, educational, medical, technology and related investments in Augusta, enabling companies to access tax abatement benefits. Title to assets is deeded to AEDA and leased to the company.
• Site Selection Assistance Comprehensive site selection services including property search tools, shovel-ready site information, and property database access for businesses looking to locate or expand in Augusta.
• Tax Abatement and Incentive Programs Local tax assistance and abatement programs including Industrial Revenue Bond financing, Amendment 74 tax exemptions for manufacturers investing $1M+, and Freeport inventory exemptions up to 100%.
• AEDA Strike Team Services A multi-department team providing coordinated support for business expansion and relocation projects, including Economic Development, Planning, Building, Engineering, Fire, Police, Utilities, and IT consultation services as a single point of contact.
• Property Search Database GIS-based property search tool for finding available commercial and industrial sites and buildings in the Augusta, GA area.
• Economic Development Services (Unified Suite) A unified suite of services for business attraction, existing industry retention, expansion, retail/commercial development, and workforce alignment strategies across Augusta-Richmond County.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tax abatement of approximately 50% for companies using Industrial Revenue Bonds
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Georgia Quick StartcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 April 2024Georgia Quick Start provides workforce training programs that work with companies like GF Casting Solutions to develop their future workforce. This is a critical component of Georgia's speed-to-market solutions.
• Georgia EMCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 April 2024Georgia EMC partners with AEDA on workforce development projects, providing training resources for companies in the Augusta region.
• Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2021GDEcD partners with AEDA on business recruitment projects. The Global Commerce team represents the state in competitive projects, working in partnership with AEDA on major announcements like Aurubis ($340M), GF Casting Solutions ($184M), and Syensqo investments.
• Georgia PowercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2021Georgia Power is a key statewide economic development partner working with AEDA on industrial recruitment. They provide site information, utility infrastructure data, and incentives for companies expanding in Georgia.
• Georgia Ports AuthorityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2021Georgia Ports Authority supports AEDA's logistics value proposition by highlighting Savannah's deepwater port capabilities for companies in Augusta region.
• State of Georgia Europe OfficeminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2021The Managing Director of the State of Georgia's Europe Office played a supporting role in attracting companies like Aurubis (German company) to Georgia.
• U.S. Army Cyber Command / Fort EisenhowercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Fort Eisenhower (formerly Fort Gordon) houses U.S. Army Cyber Command creating massive public/private partnerships around information technology. Over 100 defense companies operate in the area coordinating with the installation.
• Georgia Cyber Innovation & Training CentercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018$100 million investment and the largest government cybersecurity facility in the US. A unique public/private partnership involving academia, state and federal government, law enforcement, the U.S. Army and the private sector.
• Augusta UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Augusta University, home of the Medical College of Georgia, is a key partner with nearly 9,000 students and 1,000+ faculty. The university supports economic development through the Life Sciences Business Development Center incubator.
• Augusta Technical CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Augusta Tech serves technical education needs and supports economic development in the Central Savannah River Area, offering workforce training programs including Customer Service Certificate.
• Unified Development Council of the Augusta AreaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 201813-member council that AEDA works with to coordinate economic development efforts across the Augusta region.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Savannah Economic Development Authority: Georgia's coastal port-region economic development authority serving Savannah and Chatham County. Directly comparable to AEDA in mission (site selection, industrial recruitment, port-adjacent incentives), differs in geography and emphasis on port-driven logistics versus Augusta's manufacturing/cyber mix.
• Greenville Area Development Corporation: South Carolina's Upstate regional economic development organization serving the Greenville area. Comparable in scale and target verticals (advanced manufacturing, automotive, headquarters), and competes with AEDA for the same southeastern industrial recruitment projects.
• Charlotte Regional Business Alliance: The merged Charlotte Chamber and Charlotte Regional Partnership serving the Charlotte metro. Comparable regional economic development mandate across Carolinas, often competing with Augusta for southeastern HQ and financial services relocations.
• Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce: Regional economic development and chamber organization for the Nashville metro. Comparable mandate in business recruitment, retention, and workforce alignment, often cited alongside southeastern EDAs for headquarters and advanced-industry projects.
• Pinellas County Economic Development: Florida county-level economic development organization serving Pinellas County. Comparable in scale, target industries (manufacturing, aerospace, professional services), and reliance on state partnership (Florida) for major capital attraction.
• Memphis Chamber: Regional chamber and economic development organization serving the Memphis metro. Comparable mid-size southeastern EDO competing for logistics, manufacturing, and corporate headquarters relocations across the same geographic corridor.

Direct peers

• Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce: The local chamber of commerce co-located with AEDA in the Historic Enterprise Mill. Operates with overlapping economic development, small business, and advocacy functions within Augusta-Richmond County, sharing the same leadership footprint and political constituency.

Broad incumbents

• Greater Phoenix Economic Council: Large metropolitan economic development organization serving the Phoenix metro. Operates at meaningfully larger scale and budget than AEDA, often competing for semiconductor, EV, and advanced manufacturing investments where Augusta's Fort Eisenhower cyber cluster provides differentiation.
• Metro Atlanta Chamber: The largest metropolitan economic development organization in Georgia. Operates at much larger scale than AEDA but competes for the same state-level projects; AEDA often partners with the Metro Atlanta Chamber's ecosystem while serving a distinct mid-state market.
• Greater Houston Partnership: One of the largest U.S. regional economic development organizations, serving the Houston metro. Comparable in mission (site selection, business recruitment, advocacy) but operates at a fundamentally larger scale and competing for similar energy and advanced manufacturing projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/augustaeda
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCC-izCZZQ1XDH1zvdN8EA3w
• Facebookfacebook.com/AugustaEconomicDevelopmentAuthority
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/augustaeda

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Augusta Economic Development Authority