Description
Activities shall include but are not limited to collaborating with the NC Department of Commerce to assist, promote, and enhance economic opportunities, particularly in the state of North Carolina's rural and urban communities, and to involve the priv...
Program areas at Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina
Edpnc's travel and tourism division, visit North Carolina, promotes the state's tourism appeal and industry, which supports 235,700 jobs in North Carolina. Visitnc executes marketing programs that advance North Carolina's standing as a major destination for leisure travel, group tours, meetings and conventions, sports events, film production and retirees. The marketing efforts of visitnc and its public and private partners at the state, regional and local levels exhibited continued success. The latest figures available show visitors spent a record $26.75 billion in calendar year 2019, a 6 percent increase from the previous year.
Edpnc's business recruitment division helps grow North Carolina's Economic base by supporting new facilities projects that lead to increased employment opportunities throughout the state. This division works statewide helping companies interested in locating to or expanding in North Carolina to find sites, navigate financial incentives and permitting requirements, and identify and tap resources to meet workforce, training and infrastructure needs. The edpnc and its partners supported 150 business recruitment and expansion projects resulting in the announcement of 18,304 new jobs in North Carolina and $5.63 billion in investment.
Edpnc's international trade division helps North Carolina companies identify and develop overseas marketing opportunities free of charge. This is especially beneficial to smaller businesses which often do not have staff dedicated to exploring and developing export opportunities. Edpnc has multilingual experts located in North Carolina and several foreign offices in canada, mexico, europe, japan, shanghai, hong kong, and the middle east. Services offered include export education programs, customized searches for international distributors or agents, research and intelligence on international markets, and referrals to programs offering export finance assistance. The team organizes and leads North Carolina companies' participation in high-profile international trade events. The team also helps participants access federal funding to cover certain costs, including travel and marketing material translation. In fy 2020, the edpnc's international trade managers and foreign offices assisted 574 companies with exporting, and those businesses reported over $1 billion in foreign sales connected to edpnc support.