2016 Wraps Up For International Business In KCMO

Narbeli Galindo, the EDC’s Director of International Affairs, and Alvin Liow, EDC International Trade Assistant, EDCKC International, would like to take this opportunity to wish our international business community a very successful and promising new year! “We want to thank everyone who has worked so hard to help grow Kansas City, Missouri’s economy in 2016. It’s been a great year, and thanks to you, we are more excited than ever about what’s possible in 2017!”

Here’s how KCMO’s International Business Community wrapped up 2016:

December 15th, 2016: Missouri State- EU, United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, Dubai, India Trade Directors Visit to Kansas City, Missouri

The EDC international hosted several Trade Directors and team members from Missouri State EU, United Kingdom, Israel, Dubai, and India during their time in Kansas City. Their goal was to meet with local global companies from various industries and sectors interested in exploring exporting opportunities in these foreign markets. During one-on-one meetings, companies heard an overview of opportunities available, sectors to target, and challenges businesses may face when exploring those new export markets.

December 12th, 2016: EDC Holiday Service Opportunity at KC Community Kitchen

This holiday season, the EDC, together with the PIEA (Planned Industrial Expansion Authority) decided to give back to the community by volunteering at the Kansas City Community Kitchen. The Kansas City Community Kitchen serves lunch to the homeless in a restaurant style manner to ensure that all guests “dine with dignity.” Each EDC group was given several roles to choose from- dining room host, wait staff, dishwasher, plating team, and beverage station. All in all, the EDC group engaged with several community members and enjoyed volunteering their time at the Kansas City Community Kitchen.

December 8th, 2016: Northland CAPS High School Project Presentation

For the last few years, Galindo and her team have been working with high school students from the Northland Center for Advanced Professional Studies (Northland CAPS), and Pat Stidham- Northland CAPS instructor for Global Business and Entrepreneurship. In the fall of 2016, The Northland CAPS worked on a project exposing high school students in the Northland to innovative and entrepreneurial education.

The project assigned to the students was a set of research topics related to Kansas City, Missouri’s branding, and data analysis. Students were invited to give their final presentation at the EDC office on December 8th, 2016 and they did a fantastic job! Galindo and Stidham plan to continue collaborating and integrating Kansas City High school students with Kansas City’s International business community.

December 5th, 2016: Missouri State- Greater China and Hong Kong Trade Directors Visit to KCMO

The EDC hosted Trade Director- Mr. James Robinson and his team from the Missouri International Trade and investment Greater China and Hong Kong Office on December 5th, 2016. The event began with a presentation showcasing opportunities in the China and Hong Kong markets.

Interested local companies and organizations attended the event to receive an overview of potential opportunities and challenges with the export process. The attendees were able to set up one-on-one business meetings with the director and his team to further discuss how to do business in Greater China and the Hong Kong region.