Opening doors, unlocking new investment in Alberta

The Voice of Canada News

Alberta’s new trade and investment contractor, Connection Silicon Valley (CSV), will help open doors for Alberta businesses in Silicon Valley, San Francisco and beyond.

Minister Bilous (centre) with Alberta business leaders Cory Janssen and Ashif Mawji (second from left), Connection Silicon Valley CEO Joanne Fedeyko (right) and JPC Corp. director Christy May.

CSV is an organization dedicated to connecting Canadian businesses with partners and investors in the Bay Area.

Success in Silicon Valley is built on persistence and relationships. By having dedicated boots on the ground, Alberta organizations will be better positioned to identify opportunities, strike partnerships and win a larger share of investment dollars from a leading global source of innovation and venture capital.

“Alberta’s innovators and entrepreneurs are attracting international attention and investment in a variety of sectors – especially our high-tech industry. With new in-market champions to go to bat for us in Silicon Valley, we are giving our industry leaders the chance to have a global impact while they create new jobs and opportunities here at home.”

To ensure effective support for Alberta companies, CSV will partner with JPC Corp., an Alberta-based investment attraction and trade consulting firm. Together, CSV and JPC Corp. will leverage their extensive networks in California and Alberta to match key Bay Area investors and influencers with complementary tech, talent and companies in Alberta.

“This new trade and investment contractor will help make new connections to the influential and powerful technology community in the San Francisco Bay area, which will help Alberta companies get global traction faster and access to billions of dollars in venture capital. This is the type of support needed if we are serious about helping our startups get to commercialisation and scale globally.”

“This partnership provides a springboard for companies in Alberta to grow their business and access Silicon Valley’s $25 billion in investment capital. As proud Albertans, the next time a billion-dollar company is looking to expand into a new territory, we want Alberta to be at the top of the list.”

“Alberta has a strong resume of exciting, innovative startups. Together, we aim to create closer ties that help Silicon Valley and Albertan businesses connect, innovate and invest together.”

Alberta’s new trade and investment contractor is one outcome of the May 2018 mission to San Francisco, where Minister Bilous met with California-based investors, business leaders and agencies to discuss how to better connect innovative Alberta companies with opportunities in California.

The new Alberta-California link is one of several initiatives to strengthen the province’s burgeoning tech sector. The Alberta government is also creating 3,000 new tech seats for Alberta post-secondary students and has introduced a new Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit.

Alberta has recently attracted important expansions from several tech giants, including Google’s DeepMind and British video game startup Improbable in Edmonton, and Garmin Canada in the Calgary area.