Nanaimo Businesses Presented with Local and Global Market Opportunities
Final Stop on Provincewide Tour to Showcase Regional Tech Scene
VANCOUVER, March 6, 2017 /CNW/ - The BC Innovation Council—a Crown agency of the Province—is helping B.C. companies find solutions to the challenges they face through a seven-city Regional Innovation Opportunities tour concluding in Nanaimo today.
The tour is connecting over 20 companies with hundreds of local business owners to share insights and gain access to potential new customers and global markets. The tour provides businesses with real business opportunities in seven regions throughout the province.
Home to Innovation Island, a member of the BC Innovation Council's BC Acceleration Network, Nanaimo, Parksville and Qualicum have nearly 250 technology firms employing over 1,400 people.
"Our region's growing technology sector is helping diversify central Vancouver Island's economy, and could hold the key to solving the problems faced by government organizations and industry," said Michelle Stilwell, MLA for Parksville-Qualicum. "This tour will allow local innovators to access new markets, providing opportunities for growth and job creation."
The tour is giving Nanaimo businesses the chance to collaborate with larger companies, government agencies and entrepreneurs, to find solutions to their business challenges. It is also an opportunity for companies to network and build their businesses, leading to possible job opportunities and new customers that could expose companies to national and worldwide markets.
"From the interior to coasts, B.C.'s diverse regions are full of innovative companies with huge potential to grow and create local jobs," said Carl Anderson, President & CEO, BC Innovation Council. "Through this initiative, we're giving businesses an opportunity to showcase their innovations provincewide, while allowing people to continue building their businesses where they live."
Examples of companies and the types of challenges that they will present in Nanaimo include:
- IBM, seeking a way to track the location of technicians during field operations.
- Schneider Electric, seeking high reliability, low-cost deployment of wireless infrastructure.
- FortisBC, seeking to leverage technology to increase the supply of renewable natural gas in a cost-effective way.
- BCLC, seeking to develop innovative games or experiences to attract new players.
The first-of-its-kind tour will build a stronger network of tech companies throughout the province, giving local businesses in communities outside the Lower Mainland an opportunity to showcase their innovation provincewide and build their businesses in the communities they know and love.
Between February 2 – March 6, the Regional Innovation Opportunities tour visited six other communities, including Prince George, Victoria, Kamloops, Castlegar, Terrace and Kelowna. For more information about the challenges and the opportunities they represent, visit: bcic.ca/regional-innovation-opportunities
About BC Innovation Council (www.bcic.ca)
The BC Innovation Council accelerates the growth and success of B.C. companies by providing resources and market opportunities for applied innovations that solve challenges and drive competitiveness in B.C. industries. Through the annual #BCTECH Summit and support of the B.C. government's #BCTECH Strategy, BCIC is fostering the growth of competitive companies that generate revenue, produce high-paying skilled jobs and drive economic development in B.C.
SOURCE BC Innovation Council
Media Contact: William Johnson, Communications Manager, BC Innovation Council, [email protected], 604 602-5258
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