Ottawa has a new attitude in economic development (TechVibes)

Greg Markey Invest Ottawa officially opened its doors to about 500 people on Tuesday to show the “flagship” of the City’s $5.5 million annual economic development strategy. The new organization replaces the Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovation, which had been in operation since 1983 and focused on the region’s tech sector. Invest Ottawa will set ...

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La « pierre angulaire » du développement (Le Droit)

François Pierre Dufault, Le Droit L’organisme Investir Ottawa prend son envol avec un mandat clair Le nouvel organisme Investir Ottawa est bien plus qu’un simple remodelage du Centre de recherche et d’innovation d’Ottawa (CRIO), dit le maire Jim Watson. C’est, selon lui, la « pierre angulaire » d’une nouvelle stratégie de développement économique « plus ...

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Ottawa’s tech industry organization gets new name, new mandate (ITBusiness.ca)

ITBusiness Staff, ITBusiness.ca OCRI, founded in 1985, is now Invest Ottawa, an organization that will focus more on startups than just the city’s old guard of high tech. The agency in charge of promoting Ottawa’s technology sector has a new name and a new mandate as of today. The Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovation (OCRI) ...

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Invest Ottawa opens for business (CBC)

Ottawa’s official hub for entrepreneurs opened Tuesday with an expanded mission to move beyond high-tech startups. Invest Ottawa, formerly known as the Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovation, now offers support and office space to businesses in fields such as green energy, defence, and digital media. Mayor Jim Watson said the change wasn’t just a rebranding ...

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Video: OCRI becomes Invest Ottawa (Ottawa Citizen)

Video by Wayne Cuddington Invest Ottawa officially changed its name from OCRI during the official launch at the new headquarters located at 80 Aberdeen in Little Italy Link to original article.

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Out with OCRI, in with Invest Ottawa (OBJ)

Courtney Symons, OBJ Four months ago, Shopify’s chief platform officer Harley Finkelstein met with Invest Ottawa’s (formerly OCRI) CEO Bruze Lazenby and “chewed him out.” “I found that OCRI was very, very stiff,” Mr. Finkelstein said. “They weren’t open to change, they weren’t open to looking past Kanata, and it was all about what we ...

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Invest Ottawa opens doors to city business (Ottawa Sun)

By Darren Brown, Ottawa Sun The city has high hopes a new innovation centre will boost the local job market. Invest Ottawa, which officially opened its doors Tuesday morning, is intended to be a one-stop-shop for startups looking for advice and guidance as the grow their business. “My hope is that once a company becomes ...

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Watson makes his economic development mark (OBJ)

Peter Kovessy, OBJ When dignitaries gather today in Little Italy to officially launch Ottawa’s overhauled lead economic development agency, they’ll implicitly be recognizing Mayor Jim Watson’s vision of how the city should support the local tech sector. On Tuesday, the organization formerly known as OCRI is expected to be officially rebranded as Invest Ottawa, capping ...

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City to open new economic development centre Tuesday (Metro)

Joe Lofaro, Metro Ottawa Invest Ottawa to replace Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovation (OCRI) The city will unveil a new economic development centre, Invest Ottawa, Tuesday morning which will replace the non-profit organization Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovation (OCRI). Mayor Jim Watson, Jeff Westeinde, Invest Ottawa co-chair, Harley Finkelstein, Shopify Inc. co-founder and chief platform ...

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Invest Ottawa Launches Today (CFRA)

Josh Pringle with CFRA Staff The City’s revamped economic development agency officially launches today. Invest Ottawa replaces the Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovation. Invest Ottawa CEO Bruce Lazenby tells CFRA’s Afternoon Edition the name change will help refocus the primary goal of economic development in the City of Ottawa. Lazenby says the idea behind Invest ...

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