EEDC, Edmonton Chamber and Health City Partner to Help Health Companies Go Global

August 26, 2019 (EDMONTON, ALBERTA) – Edmonton Economic Development (EEDC), the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce, and Health City are pleased to announce a collaborative effort to deliver a “healthified” version of the successful Trade Accelerator Program this fall for health companies.

One year after launching in Edmonton, the Trade Accelerator Program has helped over 50 companies become export ready. Graduates of the program are now exporting to countries like Japan and Mexico with total economic impact reaching over $33M to date. With increasing interest among companies looking to grow beyond Edmonton, Health City realized an opportunity to provide those in the health sector a tailored version of the program. This tailored version will address export challenges and issues (such as regulatory approval and reimbursements) unique to the health sector.

“It is essential for Canadian companies to be thinking globally from inception. The Trade Accelerator Program is an innovative and dynamic program targeting Canadian companies early to exploit global markets. Health City is proud to partner with EEDC, the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and the Trade Accelerator Program to prepare merging health companies to go global sooner,” stated Reg Joseph, CEO, Health City.

“Business expansion through export is a vital component of achieving a prosperous and resilient economy, and the Trade Accelerator Program is a tool that all Edmonton companies with export potential can access,” says Derek Hudson, EEDC CEO. “Partnering with Health City to deliver this cohort allows EEDC and our partners to focus on opportunities and challenges specific to the health sector and give the world more Edmonton.”

The health cohort (Cohort 194) of the Trade Accelerator Program starts on October 31 and runs through to December 12 of 2019, but companies will only be required to attend four in-person sessions spread throughout the program.

For more information and to apply, companies can visit Edmonton.com/tap

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About Edmonton Economic Development
As an agency of the City of Edmonton, Edmonton Economic Development’s (EEDC) mandate is to recommend economic development policy and strategy for the City of Edmonton, execute strategy as assigned by the Shareholder, and conduct a broad range of economic development initiatives in collaboration with the City of Edmonton and other partners. The organization currently manages the following divisions: Edmonton Tourism, Edmonton Convention Centre, Edmonton EXPO Centre, and Innovate Edmonton. For more information, visit annualreport.eedc.ca

About the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce
The Edmonton Chamber is the respected voice of business in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. With over 2,000 member companies that employ over 100,000 people in our region, we are one of the largest chambers in Canada and among the most influential business organizations in the country. The Edmonton Chamber is non-partisan organization and we do not endorse any political party or any candidate seeking elected office.

About Health City
Health City is a non-profit, municipal economic development initiative created to connect, promote, catalyze and accelerate innovation in the health sector in Edmonton and surrounding region. Health City works with our community to create a vibrant health industry with health and social outcomes for our citizens. Our focus is on transforming innovations from our health ecosystem into solutions that have commercial application and global relevance; adopting them for impact in Edmonton and scaling them for export to global markets. For more information, visit www.edmontonhealthcity.ca

Media Contact
Kelvin Chen
Manager, Marketing & Communications
Edmonton Economic Development
P: 780.917.7600
E: kchen@edmonton.com

Karen Gilchrist
Director, Communications
Health City
P: 780.720.5446
E: kgilchrist@edmontonhealthcity.ca