For NSBI, the 2006/07 fiscal year was packed with exciting economic growth for the province; growth of our local companies and new international companies that expanded in Nova Scotia.
As we move into 2007/08, we have an opportunity to look back on our growth and determine how we will move forward. This year has special importance as it marks the end of our first five years. We will be introducing our new five-year plan in 2007/08 and will begin the next chapter of business at NSBI.
This is an exciting time for NSBI and for Nova Scotia. We have achieved a lot in one year, but it hasn’t happened overnight. NSBI has worked diligently with its partners to assist with business growth across the province.
We Are…Business Advisory
In 2006/07, our business advisory team worked directly on the front lines. The team collaborated with business owners and managers across the province to explore new opportunities and determine how NSBI can assist. These six individuals also worked closely with their colleagues in the marketing, corporate, financial services, trade development and investment attraction teams to assist with partner initiatives and client transactions. During 2006/07, the team collectively participated in more than 800 face-to-face meetings with businesses in every region of the province, creating more than 350 qualified referrals to help these businesses grow.
We Are…Trade Development
The trade development team had a record-breaking year. In 2006/07, the team arranged upwards of 1,200 selling/partnering meetings for clients and led or facilitated a total of 20 trade missions and shows. This work has assisted 247 businesses in expanding their markets. More than $85 million in incremental sales were reported from these clients. This past year, the trade development team stepped out further into the spotlight by launching its new website, www.nsbitrade.com .
We Are…Investment Attraction
NSBI’s investment attraction team reported another impressive year with the conclusion of 15 transactions. Some of the world’s leading companies in information technology and defence and aerospace expanded in the province. A highlight was financial services, a sector that has grown to include some the world’s largest financial services companies. Over the next five years, Citco Fund Services, Olympia Capital, Marsh and Butterfield Fund Services are expected to create and maintain more than 1,100 new jobs - that’s more than 200 new jobs each year.
Overall, approximately 3,100 jobs are forecasted to be created and maintained through payroll rebate investments alone. This translates into many high paying and competitive job opportunities that will assist in raising the average salary rate across the province. Not to mention the long-term and spin-off benefits of these transactions, which will be felt for many years to come.
We Are…Financial Services
NSBI’s financial services team created 13 new client-focused solutions, providing capital to fit the needs of growth-oriented companies in all parts of Nova Scotia. The financial services team conducted 334 meetings with current and prospective clients throughout the province. The investment attraction team and the financial services team also worked collaboratively to assist its clients with provincial expansions.
We Are…Partners
In 2006/07, NSBI not only welcomed new business growth to the province, we also welcomed new partnerships and strengthened existing ones. These partnerships were built on the age-old idea that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’ We all worked together to identify the issues that our province is facing and will continue to tackle in the coming years. Challenges like technology and education, and the war for talent.
Initiatives like Partner East, Nova Scotia Day in Ottawa, the Ottawa Education Mission, Where Will IT Take You? and techportjobs.com have assisted in bringing Nova Scotia’s challenges to bear and have done their part to address them. By sitting down with foreign ambassadors in Ottawa, meeting with the Information Technology Association of Canada, partnering with Alberta’s booming business community and launching a new IT job site, NSBI and our partners are tackling these issues head on.
As we embark on 2007/08, NSBI will continue to build on its success over the past year and since its inception in 2001. We will do this through our role as a global competitor and by making the right investments that will lead to provincial growth. We must also continue to work hard to keep young people here by creating high quality and highly skilled jobs.
All of NSBI’s accomplishments over the past year are a strong signal to the world that Nova Scotia has what it takes to be a leader. The 2006/07 fiscal year gave NSBI many reasons to celebrate, but it also motivated us to work even harder as we move into the next year and into the next five years. Nova Scotia has a world-class business case; now we have an impressive list of world-class accomplishments and companies behind us. In order to generate further economic growth in the coming years, we need to embrace it. We need to continue to take action, take risks, and most importantly, we need to work together. NSBI can do it because we are strong, we are driven and we are a team.