In Episode 5 of Bloom, hosts Emily Rendell-Watson and Faaiza Ramji discuss an announcement from the provincial government about a working group that will work on revitalization and investment in the Edmonton metropolitan region.
The Edmonton Metro Region Economic Recovery (EMRER) Working Group includes representatives like Lisa Baroldi from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), Ashlyn Bernier of Samdesk, and Andrew MacIsaac from Applied Pharmaceutical Innovation (API).
"I'm a little skeptical in that I see a lot of these working groups and it seems like we pull from a lot of the same pool to populate them, but we don't always see on our side the dots connected on the actions," Ramji said.
"I'm more interested to see what the outcomes are of this working group and how they're going to be ... put into play quickly, because obviously every economy has taken a huge beating throughout COVID. And it'd be really nice to see how quickly people in Edmonton can bounce back."
The working group is expected to deliver a final report to the government this summer.
The podcast also touches on a new machine learning analyst program at NorQuest College that aims to fill a need for entry- to mid-level workers in the industry.
Plus, Startup Edmonton's Propel pre-accelerator program has announced its latest cohort: adewunmi skincare, Complete Solutions, Consulting International Inc., Deeleeo Inc., Fairly Staffing, FLIT, Re(source), SN Biomedical, Team CarePal, ValueLaw.ca, and YouTechSolution. It runs from Feb. 28 to May 20.
Ramji and Rendell-Watson also interview Startup TNT's co-founder, Zack Storms, about the non-profit's annual report for 2021 and its business model, plus a new venture capital fund.
Bloom is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and everywhere else you get your podcasts.