Tourism Winnipeg

For the last five years, more than 90 private sector businesses have invested in YES! Winnipeg (YW) and its vision to position the city as an ideal place to live, invest and grow. Thanks to their unwavering commitment, Winnipeg has been a hub of job creation, new business and economic growth. "YES! Winnipeg was created by private sector leaders. It has evolved and continues to evolve. What stays the same is YES! Winnipeg's relentless focus on selling Winnipeg to the world while helping existing companies grow," says Ryan Kuffner, YW's Vice President of Sales & Business Development. Since 2016, our YW team has expanded and adapted to provide the best possible service to our business community and to make a real impact on Winnipeg. We are building on past successes and creating a new path forward for greater growth. Business development In recent years, we grew our Business Development team. The team focuses on assisting business retention, expansion and attraction with a focus on five key sectors: advanced manufacturing, aerospace, information and communication technologies, agribusiness and creative industries. We have celebrated many successes, including the attraction of Ubisoft and MJardin Group to Winnipeg and the retention of SkipTheDishes. We have also supported businesses as they expanded their operations, such as Precision ADM and Price Industries. "We've helped a myriad of companies expand here in the city. We fought for and lost some companies too, including Bayer Canada, which moved its headquarters to Calgary. But I'm also proud that we worked hard to keep companies which were being courted by other jurisdictions or were thinking of leaving," adds Kuffner. Access to capital remains a gap in our local business ecosystem and YW is engaged on this issue. Beyond supporting the creation of Harvest Builders (a new prairie venture fund) in 2019, YW is joining forces with the Province of Manitoba and our other economic development partners, including North Forge and the World Trade Centre, to explore ways we can collaborate to create a more supportive access to capital ecosystem. Foreign direct investment We wanted to draw more international eyes and investment to Winnipeg and our companies. We knew the best way to do that was by creating a dedicated Foreign Direct Investment team in 2019. The team works with national and global partners such as Global Affairs Canada and Invest in Canada on lead generation and strategy. In March 2020, we hosted a group of Canadian investment officers from around the globe so they could learn firsthand the numerous advantages of doing business in Winnipeg. We are already reaping returns from this effort, as we welcomed an Israeli-based life sciences manufacturer and a U.S.-based research firm to Winnipeg in 2020. Investor relations We also created an Investor Relations team to build and steward relationships with our YW investors, identifying business and engagement opportunities with YW and within our network. We've reengaged our Investor Council as a key sounding board to provide feedback on investor engagement and strategic direction for the team. BUILDING ON THE PAST for a stronger future YES! WINNIPEG 23

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