Issue link: http://tourismwpg.uberflip.com/i/1305277
The Foreign Direct Investment team showcased Winnipeg's economic strengths to Global Affairs Canada investment officers in early 2020. "Investment officers play an important role for Canada, since they embed themselves into the business community of the country to which they are posted. They learn from the inside of these markets which companies are growing, what their priorities may be, how they make expansion decisions and then influence them to consider Canada and cities like Winnipeg for their investment," says Ryan Kuffner, YW's Vice President of Sales & Business Development. Over four days, the investment officers toured companies across different industries and say they were not disappointed in what the city in the geographic centre of North America could offer international companies. "I think there is definitely an opportunity. Winnipeg has several industry clusters that could be a fit with the Bay area market in particular, I'm thinking both on the information and communication technologies sector and also advanced manufacturing and agriculture," said Kegan Johnson, an investment officer at the Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco. "What struck me was the significant diversity of industry that I did not expect at that level. I mean, I knew about Boeing and I knew about the aerospace cluster but particularly advanced manufacturing in that depth was new to me. What I also found interesting was the development of downtown with SkipTheDishes, with the new facilities of Ubisoft, who are building a startup scene downtown which also helps the city and that is again something I did not expect," said Detlef Engler, Canada's investment lead in Germany. The stability and security of the Winnipeg market is also attractive in a world increasingly fraught with risks. The investment officers say they were impressed with how companies do business here and the pride they show in the products and services they offer. Winnipeg isn't just on the map for them now, it's moved to the top of the list of places to recommend to foreign investors and site selectors in 2021 and beyond. YES! WINNIPEG 19