Objective 2
Attract, Grow and Retain, leveraging our mix of urban and rural assets
Attract
PKED responded to 21 inquiries/leads during Q3.
Of the 21 inquiries, 7 are still active inquiries with varying degrees of interest in the region. It is important to note that business decisions may take months and even years to materialize. 6 of the inquiries were lost as a suitable site was not available to offer.
The types of inquiries and leads have been varied, including:
- Continued interest in vertical farming
- Lead Cell Meat Production
- Meat Processing Company
- Ag-Tech Companies
- Biotech company that produces protein for food production
- aerospace
- Textile companies
PKED also applied for the CanExport Community Investment funding to assist with foreign direct investment lead generation for the Aerospace and Cleantech sector
Retain
PKED staff continued to support businesses requesting to speak to an Economic development officer (EDO) through the results of the Business Count Survey. Numerous Business Count Survey follow-ups included inquiries from businesses asking for support on where to find skilled talent/workforce, what funding is available, and how to promote their business.
Members of staff have been meeting with EDO’s from each of the townships to discuss further collaboration, business challenges, and how to better support businesses. Currently the team has met with Havelock-Belmont-Methuen, North Kawartha, Trent Lakes, Selwyn, and Cavan-Monaghan.
Grow
Tourism Innovation Lab’s Spark Program recipients completed their mentorship portion of the program and will be receiving their second installment of the grant. All 3 recipients had a great experience with their mentors and are moving ahead with their projects. The wrap-up meeting will occur in October and PKT will work with the operators to trial their experiences for launch in early 2024
PKT worked with 3 tourism operators to develop/expand experiences to be offered in the shoulder season with experience dress rehearsals to take place in Q4.