An economic development organization, known as Central Alberta Access Prosperity (CAAP), is reaching out to communities in central Alberta to help with business growth.
Danielle Klooster, business retention, expansion and investment officer for CAAP, said the organization focuses on business retention and expansion, to help businesses become ìstrong, stable and ready to growî.
CAAP also identifies international companies that would like to expand into central Alberta and works on creating matching them with the businesses involved, for joint ventures, strategic alliances and partnerships, she said.
ìAny community in central Alberta that says to us that they want to see economic growth in their community and they want to work with us to do that, we're happy to help them,î said Klooster.
Forty-three communities in central Alberta are members of CAAP, including Mountain View County, Olds, Sundre, Innisfail, Didsbury, Carstairs, Bowden and Cremona.
Klooster has been visiting municipalities in the county on a regular basis to help with the process and to spread the word.
ìThe intention is for us to work with local economic developers and municipal leaders to bring new business or business growth to the communities,î she said.
ìIt benefits the community economically because there's a stronger business base in their community ñ that means if there's more business there, people want to move there to go and work in those businesses, so it leads to community growth.î
There is an investment attraction team that searches around the world to attract international companies that want to expand their business into western Canada, and they aim at drawing them to central Alberta, she said.
A few resources include a web platform that provides matchmaking services and a software program called Executive Pulse, which is a client relationship management tool that is offered to the communities.
ìI have a passion for communities and I have a passion to see communities be strong and stable and prosperous,î she said.
Access Prosperity is a project involving five partners. Central Alberta Economic Partnership, Red Deer city, Red Deer County, Red Deer chamber and Red Deer College, who all came together to launch the project in 2011.
For more information, visit www.accessprosperity.ca.
