In today’s hyper-competitive global markets, those who are successful attract economic development by targeting markets and sectors where synergies and alignment exist. By narrowing our ambition we are not limiting our ambitions. Rather, we are going into negotiations with a strong hand and a determined focus.
This targeted approach has paid off. It has resulted in
19 new businesses setting up operations in Alberta.
Today, investments aren’t being evaluated strictly based on potential financial returns. Increasingly, investors are seeking to work with companies and jurisdictions that demonstrate a genuine and actionable commitment to responsible ESG policies.
Investors considering Alberta for business opportunities are looking for evidence that managing ESG risk and identifying solutions is integrated into the province’s overall strategy and operations. ESG will continue to evolve, but is now well entrenched and will increasingly influence investment decisions globally and in Alberta.
For Invest Alberta, ESG is a critical pathway to sustain and attract high-impact, high-value investment into the province, putting Albertans back to work and creating new opportunities for the future. Invest Alberta is building a comprehensive set of statements about Alberta’s impacts across eight ESG categories, along with regulations in place to mitigate impacts. The categories are:
Backed by publicly-available data and information, these statements will help Invest Alberta understand the province’s ESG impacts and controls to credibly inform discussions with investors. They will guide how our team engages potential investors and global capital markets, and how we collaborate with industries and stakeholders. This provides investors with the confidence and the data they need to secure and grow their investments in Alberta.
Alberta is well-positioned to deliver on the ESG priorities of investors and businesses. In a province known for its expertise and innovation, investments into Alberta’s economy will spur new industries and ecosystems. At the same time, the province will continue to play a key role in helping companies meet emissions goals in the responsible transition to a lower-carbon economy.
In 2022-23, Invest Alberta and our ecosystem partners helped facilitate economic development and employment opportunities across the province. This year alone, the outreach strategy is directly responsible for bringing over 5,000 jobs to our province. Many of these are high-value employment opportunities in sectors such as agriculture, technology and innovation, renewable energy, bioscience and fintech.
Our goal was to create 3,500 new jobs in 2022. As part of Team Alberta, we can report 5,256 new jobs can be directly attributed to our efforts.
5,256
Jobs created*
* Jobs numbers were reported by our clients
4,706 Permanent
jobs
500 Construction
jobs
Invest Alberta’s success in building relationships, enhancing partnerships and helping businesses identify opportunities to grow extends beyond just the major announcements we made over the past year. We have also secured Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) from numerous other organizations.
MOUs are a way for Invest Alberta (IAC) to kickstart and track new investment opportunities overseas. They are exploratory agreements that result from outreach and engagement with potential investors. The costs are incorporated into IAC’s overall operations and the ROI can vary. Many of the MOUs we have signed to date have led to billions in investment and thousands of jobs.
An MOU was signed with the National Association of Software and Service Companies (nasscom). It is a not-for-profit industry association for the $227-billion IT business process management industry in India. With more than 3,000 members constituting 90% of the industry’s revenue, nasscom focuses on creating favourable business environments, boosting intellectual capital, and strengthening its talent pool. As part of this MOU, Invest Alberta partnered with Edmonton’s MacEwan University to provide 180 days of complementary office space for nasscom members looking to permanently establish themselves in the province. Meanwhile Invest Alberta will facilitate introductions, site tours and provide additional support necessary to attract investment.
In the tech world, a ‘sandbox’ is a safe testing ground for innovative products and software. Alberta’s Fintech sandbox is considered world-class, thanks to 4,800+ financial service firms who call our province home. Fintech District – the international community of reference for the Fintech ecosystem in Italy – chose to sign an MOU with Invest Alberta. As the first Canadian province to establish a regulatory sandbox for fintech companies, Alberta is providing Fintech District and its 250 members the necessary tools to gain their footing in our province – and a safe space to pilot innovative ideas and expand their influence.
* Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) are agreements made to advance investment opportunities by securing sensitive information we share to and recieve from investors, business decision-makers, advisors, third-parties, and other stakeholders.
You can’t attract investment opportunities without investing a long-term strategy of relationship-building in key markets. Over the past year, Invest Alberta and our partners have established the following high-profile investment and trade partnerships, resulting in further discovery of new opportunities with potential investors.
Does it work? Yes! The relationship with the Ireland Alberta Trade Association has resulted in Global Shares, an Irish fintech company, setting up an office in our province.
Metrics for 3 Outcomes as outlined in the Invest Alberta 2022-2025 Business Plan