Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
January 18, 2007
Northern Peninsula Business Group
Receives Funding to Develop Export Strategies
A business network group on the Northern Peninsula has
received funding for export development initiatives. The Northern
Peninsula Business Network’s 10 member companies will use the funding to
hire an export consultant and plan a major conference for the area.
“The Northern Peninsula Business Network is a dynamic and dedicated
group of people that jointly employ close to 400 full-time and seasonal
workers and represent some of the most successful manufacturing
companies in the region,” said the Honourable Trevor Taylor, Minister of
Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. “I think it is appropriate for
government to provide encouragement to business leaders in rural areas
to create jobs.”
The network has received $25,000 from the department’s Business and
Market
Development Program. The funding will help retain a consultant to write
export plans for each of the member companies, and help defray the costs
of organizing a major conference, Embracing Innovation through
Investment, to be held in Corner Brook on February 22 – 24, 2007.
The Northern Peninsula Business Network is a non-profit organization
without staff or premises. Since its inception in 2000, the network has
successfully pursued a number of initiatives to improve productivity and
increase its markets including training in lean manufacturing, visits to
manufacturers in other provinces, and a fact-finding mission to
Greenland. This new initiative will ensure that all member companies of
the network are export ready.
The Business and Market Development Program is designed to provide new
entrepreneurs and expanding small businesses with funding to help them
acquire the necessary expertise to pursue new business ideas and new
markets for their products or services. The $1 million program is
intended to support new growth opportunities in the economy, such as
value-added manufacturing activities and export-oriented opportunities.
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Media contact:
Lynn Evans
Director of Communications
Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development
709-729-4570, 690-6290
LynnEvans@gov.nl.ca
2007 01 18
11:05 a.m.