A new position, funded by Mayor Sly James’ office, was recently created to help support Kansas City-based companies who do business in the international space. Narbeli Galindo, Kansas City’s New Coordinator of International Business Initiatives, has been working with the EDC since the beginning of 2015 and has been hard at work helping us with our efforts to attract more international investments for local Kansas City companies.
Narbeli Galindo is an instructor of international business and finance at the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. She teaches international management, international finance, corporate finance, and leads the Spain Study Abroad programs at the undergraduate level and international marketing at the graduate level. Additionally, she is a speaker with Bloch Executive Education for corporations on multicultural management training topics such as international business etiquette and manners, aimed at corporations that expand globally.
Over her 25 years of work experience she had international leadership roles with Warner Lamber/Pfizer, AT&T, Sprint, Cerner Corp. and run her own importing company Narbelis’ Imports LLC for 14 years, therefore has extensive international experience living and working overseas in more than 25 countries.
She is multilingual in English, French and Spanish. Galindo has been the lead “globetrotter” raising awareness about opportunities Kansas City offers companies who choose to locate here and we wanted to sit down with her to find out specifically, what this initiative means for Kansas City. Here is a snapshot of our conversation:
Here is a snapshot of our conversation:
What is the goal of the International Business Initiative?
“The current key initiatives are to work with international companies to locate their facilities in Kansas City, Missouri, and to provide KCMO global companies support and service regarding their export and import opportunities, and to positively represent and manage activities as they relate to international dignitaries visiting KCMO.”
Why would international businesses want to come to Kansas City?
“Kansas City is ranked as one of the top 5 entrepreneurial ecosystems in the world. We were selected as one of the Global Cities Initiative Exchange, and the Kansas City metropolitan area reached a record $8.3 billion in exports for 2014.” Read the July 2015 press release from the U.S. Department of Commerce here: Kansas City Ranks As A Top Metropolitan Area For Exports
How successful has this program been so far?
“As Kansas City awareness has grown, we have started to receive an overwhelming amount of correspondence about wanting to invest in KCMO from across the globe. Local KCMO International companies have also expressed an interest in going overseas to partner with other global companies. For example, a Spanish company, who I met in Milan, Italy, at the Global Entrepreneurship conference, came to the United States for the first time in July, and now plans to enter the United States market through KCMO,” says Galindo.
Hosting the Winnipeg, Canada City Councillor in Kansas City
How often are you hosting international clients in Kansas City?
“There are a variety of international clients visiting Kansas City, Missouri and looking to expand their operations and businesses every month. Apart from hosting international clients, we do attend international events in the US and in foreign markets. The objective of these events is to represent and promote Kansas City, Missouri. In addition, we host many dignitaries to show them opportunities first hand in KCMO. Recently, we have hosted and host dignitaries from Germany, UK, Canada, South Africa, Kenya and Czech and Slovak republics. ”
What industries are you primarily focused on for International Business?
Both the geographic and population centers of the United States lie within 250 miles of Kansas City, making the metropolitan area a natural hub for intermodal transportation, warehousing, manufacturing, and distribution. That said, the industries we have been working with most are in manufacturing/ warehousing, technology, architecture, engineering and energy solutions. We have also seen a lot of growth in financial services, health sciences and the arts.
QBox visit to KCMO from Madrid, Spain
Qbox Designs
How do you determine which country to focus on or invite for a presentation, event, meeting, etc.?
We have been focusing our efforts on recruiting specific industries who are well suited for the area. Our goal is to bring large investments to KCMO that will create ongoing local employment opportunities. We attend trade shows all over the world to showcase Kansas City and to tell the story of all we have to offer, while connecting with businesses who may consider establishing a subsidiary or new operations in the United States.
What does Kansas City offer that other cities don’t have?
“Easy…We are the only “Smart City“ in the United States! Kansas City also ranks first in the country in Foreign Trade Zones space….and of course, we were the first city to get Google Fiber!”
How do you see this new initiative helping Kansas City?
We want international investors to recognize Kansas City as a key player in the global supply chain, and we know when we support our international businesses at the local level, our whole region grows organically through their exports and imports. The strength of the US economy is often based on the quantity of business exports and imports to and from the international marketplace and Kansas City plays a major role in many of those transactions.
Businesses relocating to or expanding in the Kansas City area can take advantage of a wide range of financial incentives provided by state and local government agencies. These include state income tax credits, real and personal property tax exemptions, sales tax exemptions, financing programs, workforce training, and a number of other programs.
Knowing how to take advantage of international business resources and opportunities is one of the first lines of defense in ensuring a company’s success here in Kansas City. We want to help our international business community grow, and I am excited to continue sharing the good news about Kansas City, Missouri!
*For more information about international business in Kansas City, Missouri, please visit the International Business section of our website, or contact Narbeli Galindo, the EDC’s Coordinator for International Business Development Initiatives. ngalindo@edckc.com (816) 691-2139 or (800) 889-0636
