Your weekly round up of BizNews across Greater Victoria
The Chairs' Holiday Reception was a huge success, with over 300 guests mixing and mingling, sharing holiday wishes and cheer in the beautiful and historic Craigdarroch Castle! Check out the event photos!
Chamber Business Awards
Know a business or business person who deserves recognition? Does your own business exemplify success and leadership? Nominate a business today!
Eleven Greater Victoria municipalities have voted to support a new regional model for economic development, currently called the South Vancouver Island Economic Development Association.
The new group will be accountable to the entire region, replacing The Chamber's Greater Victoria Development Agency, and have set goals to increase the number of jobs in targeted sectors, household income as well as the amount of federal and provincial project funding it can draw to the region.
All about Al
Read the Douglas magazine article on incoming 2016 Chamber Chair Al Hasham, an "entrepreneur with an innovative mind, a philosophical spirit and a drive to make a positive difference."
Improve your bottom line with Karam Bassi, a merchant service expert. Learn about transaction fees and how to create a personalized payment strategy.
Tues, Jan 26 | Noon - 1 pm
The Chamber, 852 Fort St.
BC Invests $100M in Tech
The BC Government announced this week a $100-million venture capital fund aimed to provide entrepreneurs and start-up tech companies with needed access to capital funding.
"BC's multi-billion dollar tech sector is a huge economic driver in BC and a major employer in Greater Victoria," said Chamber CEO Bruce Carter. "Building upon this success, the provincial government is laying the groundwork to foster future growth in this sector."
Victoria Tech Firm Serves Tourism
Over the past four years Checkfront, co-founded by Grant Jurgeneit, claims to have processed $1 billion in transactions for its more than 3,000 customers worldwide.
For a monthly fee, Checkfront offers cloud-based booking management and a platform to bill and take payment. It also offers mobile applications on Android and iOS that come with hardware to allow operators to check in guests and take payment anywhere, such as at a dock before an eco-tour or in a vineyard before a wine tasting.
Co-founder and chief executive Jason Morehouse said he can see massive growth potential given the size of the tourism and activities market globally.
Checkfront: member since 2015
Mix and Mingle
Business Mixers and Prodigy Group Mingles are vibrant, after-hours business social events which are an excellent opportunity for members and prospective members to meet face-to-face.
Greater Victoria is expected to receive hundreds of Syrian refugees of the coming months.
"As the refugees resettle and take the first steps towards becoming Canadians, they will need training and jobs," said Chamber CEO, Bruce Carter. "One of the most useful contributions you can make is to consider hiring a refugee and encouraging other businesses to do the same."
Congratulations!
The Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia awarded Tourism Victoria its Industry Partner Award at the association's annual meeting in November.
Harbour Air Seaplanes has been voted the top tourism experience in Canada by the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC) last week
The Beverage Tastings Institute in Chicago, Illinois awarded Vancouver Island Brewery three medal distinctions in the Tastings.com World Beer Championships: In December, they awarded gold medals for Hermannator Ice Bock and Hermann's Dark Lager, and a silver medal for Islander Lager.
Welcome to our our newest members!
On the Move!
After 30 years downtown at the corner of Fort and Vancouver streets, Green Horwood & Co LLP is moving to the third floor of 710 Redbrick St., formerly the head office of League Financial. At the same time, partner Keith Smith said Green Horwood is welcoming Larkin & Nast Chartered Professional Accountants as members of the firm.
Chamber Staff - Out and About
After a string of high profile and fun events, The Chamber's staff are starting to take some - much deserved - time off. Although some staff will still be hard at work, The Chamber office will be closed for drop-ins on Fri, Dec. 11.
#100 - 852 Fort St., Victoria, BC V8W 1H8 Phone: 250-383-7191 Fax: 250-385-3552 chamber@victoriachamber.ca
