BRAMPTON, ON (May 12, 2023) – The City of Brampton has completed its first successful in-person investment mission to Pakistan this week, where a delegation of elected officials and economic development experts met with potential future investors and business partners.
The mission was led by Mayor Patrick Brown and included City Councillor Rod Power, the Canada Pakistan Business Council, President and Vice-Chancellor of Algoma University Asima C. Vezina, and members of the City of Brampton’s Economic Development Office, including Director Clare Barnett.
The delegation met with leading companies, Netsol Technology and Contour Software House, as well as executives in cybersecurity, medical technology, and advanced manufacturing, aligned with the City’s key development sectors. The City of Brampton targets focus areas for investment attraction missions based on data driven analysis indicating which markets have the greatest opportunities for investment and long-term job growth based on previous international efforts, Brampton’s diverse diaspora, demographic similarities, and Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) opportunities.
Building on its recent announcement of expansion to Brampton, Mayor Brown met with Unity Technology on his stop over to Pakistan in Abu Dhabi and toured their Centre of Excellence. Brampton’s Innovation District will soon be home to Unity’s National Centre of Excellence with Algoma University, developing talent in the video gaming sector. PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2022-2026 report forecast global video games and esports revenue to grow to US$323.5B in 2026. With the exceptional growth seen in this industry, the City is focused on this opportunity and bringing the jobs of the future to Brampton.
In Karachi, Pakistan, Mayor Brown met with the former captain of Pakistan’s cricket team, Shahid Afridi. Afridi will be travelling to Brampton for the GT20 Canada tournament this summer. Brampton is quickly becoming the cricket capital of Canada as it works to build a world class multi-purpose cricket facility at its City Lands site
The delegation also met with the Punjab Board of Investment and Trade, and the Punjab IT Board to strategize further collaboration opportunities. Brampton looks forward to hosting several delegations from Pakistan during Collision, one of the world’s biggest tech conferences, happening in the Toronto Region in June.
BHive, a leading start-up incubator in Brampton’s Innovation District, was a key promotional pillar during the mission. Its Global Entrepreneur Incubation Program is designed to help international entrepreneurs get the resources they need to succeed in the North American market, creating a soft-landing space for international startups, and was included as a key support in many meetings with manufacturers looking to expand in Brampton.
BHive looks forward to welcoming Pakistani startups in the next cohort this spring, including co-founder and CEO Arsalan Kayani of MyTutorPod, an innovative Edtech platform that aims to democratize the access and availability of tutoring for students at an affordable cost, based on individual needs, soft-landing space for international startups, and included meetings with manufacturers looking to expand into Brampton.
The City of Brampton targets focus areas for Investment Attraction Missions based on data driven analysis indicating which markets have the greatest opportunities for investment and long-term job growth based on previous international efforts, Brampton’s diverse diaspora, demographic similarities, and Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) opportunities.
Quotes
“Missions like this are key to building strong, viable relationships that result in further growth and investment here in Brampton. We are grateful for the warm welcome and fruitful conversations that took place around business growth and the City hosting the GT20 Cricket Tournament this summer. We look forward to welcoming emerging businesses from around the world to Brampton through our premier startup incubator BHive as we build an innovative, creative and connected community with an incredibly bright workforce ready to take our City to new heights.”
Patrick Brown, Mayor, City of Brampton
“The City of Brampton’s Economic Development Office will continue to develop plans, projects and initiatives that focus on attracting investment in key markets to bring investment to the city, much like this current investment attraction mission to Pakistan.”
Clare Barnett, Director, Economic Development