FROM GREATER VICTORIA TO THE
World
GREATER VICTORIA BUSINESSES NEED—AND DESERVE—A WORLD STAGE TO TRULY SHINE. THE CHAMBER, THROUGH A FEDERALLYFUNDED PROGRAM, HELPED THE REGION TO DO JUST THAT. The Chamber launched its Trade and Investment Program April 14, 2014. It aimed to expand international business activity and attract foreign investment. Over the past three years, The Chamber worked closely with Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) and stakeholders throughout the region, supported by $898,000 in WD funding and $600,000 in local matching funds. “The Chamber’s long-term vision for regional economic development
The Greater Victoria Development Agency (GVDA)—a Chamber committee— led regional economic development from 2007 to 2016. During nearly a decade of hard work, the GVDA attracted over a million dollars of investment to the region, creating jobs and supporting local business. Recognizing early on that more investment in economic development would be needed, The Chamber worked tirelessly to create a new, non-profit society dedicated to economic development. The South Island Prosperity Project launched in February 2016, assuming the mantle of regional economic development. The Chamber’s GVDA committee formally dissolved April 1, 2016, and its Trade and Investment Program ends March 31, 2017.
was the genesis of the Trade and Investment Program,” said Catherine Holt, CEO of The Chamber. “The influx of funding has been catalytic for Greater Victoria, supporting local businesses, attracting external investment, and creating jobs.” Here is a summary of outcomes in each of the six core areas of the Trade and Investment Program.
1. Export Expansion The Chamber championed a research project involving more than 120 local businesses who were already in various stages of global expansion. The research identified both current and future key markets, opportunities, challenges and the support they needed to achieve international business goals.
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