The Denver Office of Economic Development will emphasize assisting small businesses, retaining larger ones and promoting international trade in its 2016 ” JumpStart” plan, which was released Monday.

Each year, Denver OED sets out different priorities. Adding affordable and workforce housing was a focus in the 2015 plan, while winning more big-box retailers was a goal in the 2014 plan.

This year, Denver will carve out $250,000 to $300,000 from the $2 million it lends small businesses under federal Community Development Block Grants for a pilot loan program.

The money will target startups in technology, health care and manufacturing, in combination with early-stage private equity when possible, said Paul Washington, OED’s executive director.

Washington said the city also is looking at ways it can share in the upside when a funded company succeeds, such as debt convertible to equity.

Another initiative to assist small businesses is the expansion of the JumpStart BizPlan Awards into something called JumpStart Academy, where applicants and others can receive guidance from successful entrepreneurs on a variety of topics.

One goal of the new JumpStart plan is to provide 40 hours a week of training courses for entrepreneurs and small businesses on a variety of topics, likely at the Commons on Champa at 1245 Champa St.

Employer retention, always a priority, gets an added emphasis in the latest plan after Denver completed a database on commercial leases and when they are coming due.

“Retention is the most important work we do,” Washington said.

OED is dividing up 500 firms it considers critical to the city’s economy across six representatives. The goal is to open up lines of communication and provide employers a single point of contact with the city before future conversations about expansion or retention.

Washington points to the city’s success in keeping the United Airlines Flight Training Center last year as how retention efforts can pay off.

Denver also is making an effort to boost its global presence after a Brookings study found the city didn’t export as many goods and services as expected given the size of its economy, Washington said.

That international effort includes helping local firms tap into markets abroad and reaching out to foreign companies looking at expanding in the U.S.

Washington pointed to the success the Denver Beer Co. had breaking into Japan with the help of OED and graduate students at the University of Colorado Denver. A second export plan is underway to assist medical device makers.

Initiatives from earlier years also are getting another push, with the addition of 600 affordable housing units in the city a target.

The city also will fund the top ideas presented to address the lack of grocery stores and fresh food sources in the Globeville and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods.

Denver also is looking to establish a “retail incubator” and storefront on East Colfax Avenue to help immigrant entrepreneurs make, market and sell their wares.

Washington said a growing community of East African immigrants is settling along Colfax, and one goal of the program is to establish retailers catering to those communities.

Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, asvaldi@denverpost.com or @aldosvaldi