Mayor Gregor Robertson joined representatives from local start-ups Growlab and Ayoudo at the closing of the Cities Summit to launch ‘Made in Vancouver,’ a community resource for local start-ups to show their pride in Vancouver’s burgeoning start-up community.

In just 24 hours since Made in Vancouver launched, over 50 local start-ups have already signed on to take part.

“The battle for cities to become digital start-up centres is competitive, and Vancouver is competing with international talent in the US, Europe, Asia, and around the world,” said Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson. “‘Made in Vancouver’ is all about fostering a stronger digital community in Vancouver, providing connections and resources for budding entrepreneurs and building tomorrow’s tech leaders.”

READ MORE

A new report released today shows that the Metro Vancouver Commerce 2010 Olympic Business Program was a huge success in strengthening the region’s local economy, bringing a total of $306 million in new investment and creating 2,558 new jobs.

Nine Metro Vancouver municipalities, including Olympic host city Vancouver, partnered with the Government of Canada on Metro Vancouver Commerce, an innovative Olympic business program that saw 64 international companies come to Vancouver in February 2010 to land agreements for new jobs and investment in the region.

“Our priority going into the Olympics was ensuring we secured long-term benefits for our City, and it’s clear that our Olympic business program did just that,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson.

READ MORE

Vancouver City Council approved a new separated bike lane on Hornby Street tonight, which is the final connection for a safe, separated bike route through the downtown core.

“Over the past decade, car traffic into downtown has declined while our economy and population have increased,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson. “The only way we’re going to grow our economy is by increasing transit, cycling and pedestrian access into the downtown core.

“We’ve seen in cities around the world the economic benefits that come from increasing ridership into dense urban areas.

READ MORE

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson has concluded a successful 12-day official visit to China. Mayor Robertson’s main focus during his trip was the first-ever Vancouver Green Capital Business Mission to Shanghai, where he was joined by executives of 22 local companies from the clean tech, digital media and green building sectors.

Mayor Robertson travelled to Beijing, Shijiazhuang, Baoding, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou and Hong Kong where he met with high-level government officials and Chinese business leaders to promote trade and investment in Vancouver.

Three Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were signed during the Mayor’s visit. The first is an agreement between the City of Vancouver and global network giant Cisco Systems, which will position Vancouver as a global smart city by deploying energy monitoring controllers combined with software from Vancouver-based company Pulse Energy.

READ MORE

A new research and development centre for Canada’s green building technology will be opening in Tianjin, China, through an agreement involving Vancouver Global Green, EnVision Shanghai, and the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City.

The agreement was reached during the Vancouver Green Capital Business Mission in China, during which Mayor Gregor Robertson, Councillor Raymond Louie, and 22 Vancouver businesses are meeting with Chinese businesses and government officials to strengthen business ties between China and Vancouver.

READ MORE