Waterloo EDC can help your company grow

If you’re already here, you’ve already made a commitment to our community and it’s only right that we prioritize helping your company grow. From an investment perspective, local expansions are often quicker to materialize and easier to coordinate than an international expansion, which is usually part of a massive global location search. Just as importantly, for any community-focused organization like Waterloo EDC, it’s about helping our neighbours, friends and colleagues find success.

So, how exactly do we help? We offer a suite of complimentary services – yes, completely free – for helping Waterloo Region companies find new real estate, access government funding, develop stronger ties to the research community and tap into immigration programs, among other things.

Want a summary? We have you covered:

Collect Data – Make a Plan

Every expansion starts with information – lease rates, talent availability, funding applications and so much more. Once you have the data, you can make a plan that fits with your company’s ambitions.

If you’re leading a local subsidiary to a major multinational, we can even help you put together a business case for expansion and make the pitch, tapping into years of experience. We’ve done it before and we’re happy to do it for you.

Access Talent

If you’re going to expand, you’ll need more talent. The questions are simple: who do you need and how do you get them?

Depending on your expansion plan, you might need anything from new graduates to experienced leaders to researchers and laboratory specialists. You’ll probably need to hire them on a scale that isn’t really part of your normal operations.

We can help – we’ll put you in touch with the right people at local post-secondary institutions or with local recruiters who have strong experience in filling your exact needs.

We can also help you navigate Canada’s business immigration programs, which simplifies recruitment of top global talent. Immigration is a top source of growth for many international technology companies joining our community and could be a unique strength – given our experience and expertise with these programs – for locally-grown companies, as well.

Access Government Funding

One of the best supports for speeding up your corporate growth plans is government funding. Depending on what you’d like to do, various levels of government offer tax credits and grants for everything from new operations and equipment to new talent and research.

We can help you identify government funding programs for your expansion, guide you through the submission process, write letters of support to bolster your application and more.

Connect with Research Labs

Innovation and growth are often spurred by cutting edge research and development, but where do you start? Waterloo EDC can hep you identify potential research partners at local post-secondary institutions, connect you with the institutions themselves and navigate government funding that is earmarked for research and development.

If you want more information about how R&D can be incorporated into your operations, the Waterloo EDC team is happy to connect you with local companies that have done it.

Leverage Local Connections

Speaking of connections – even if you’ve been in the Waterloo ecosystem for decades there are still new people to meet and learn from. Some of our community’s greatest businesses successes have stemmed from collaboration and we’re happy to start conversations, either with post-secondary partners, local governments or other business leaders.

We can also help raise your company’s profile in the local community – and the international business community, as well – through our marketing materials, such as success stories, case studies and ecosystem maps.