GO-Biz Concludes Summer Series of Foreign Investment Attraction Events

May 23, 2023 | Press Release

The International Team at GO-Biz participated in multiple events focused on marketing California to international businesses in April and May, including leading a delegation of California economic developers to the annual SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C.

Sacramento, CA – The GO-Biz International Affairs and Trade team recently concluded three weeks of initiatives focused on highlighting opportunities in California to international businesses. Featuring events statewide and engagement with international partners from around the world, these events underlined the unparalleled opportunities in California for expanding international businesses. They included:

A zero-emission vehicles tour of Sacramento with a delegation from Taiwan, coordinated by GO-Biz and the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, in partnership with the American Institute in Taiwan.
The SelectLA Investment Summit in Los Angeles, at which Deputy Director for International Affairs Emily Desai delivered remarks.
The SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, D.C., to which GO-Biz led a delegation of local economic developers from across the state.
The SelectSF Investment Summit in the Bay Area, at which GO-Biz staff spoke on a panel highlighting opportunities for biotech businesses.
POWER-CA, an offshore wind focused event in Humboldt County, at which GO-Biz staff presented on resources to help international companies land.

Each of these events allowed GO-Biz International to engage with industry groups and international partners with strategic alignment in California and to amplify opportunities for global companies to establish operations in California and create jobs. Throughout these events, GO-Biz engaged with more than 350 international businesses to promote business expansion in the state.

Emily Desai, Deputy Director of International Affairs and Trade at GO-Biz, noted: “My team is proud to be attending events, meeting with businesses, and advertising the unparalleled assets our state has to offer to global companies. People from around the world also know that their ideas and dreams are welcome here in the Golden State, and that our diversity is a vital part of our economic engine. It is our honor to support events like SelectUSA and roll out the red carpet to foreign companies.”

The anchor event in this series was the SelectUSA Investment Summit, the preeminent foreign investment attraction event in the U.S. hosted by the Department of Commerce in Washington, DC. This was their largest ever event, with more than 4,900 attendees from over 80 international markets. As a Diamond-level sponsor, California brought a delegation of local economic developers from across the state:

David Whelan, BioscienceLA
Lance Hastings, CA Manufacturers & Tech Assn.
Connie Stopher, Economic Development Coalition
Matt Senekeremian, Fremont Chamber of Commerce
Julian Ramos and Tiffany Louk, Fresno EDC
Soua Vang and Jenny de la Mora, Glendale
Darlene Chiu Bryant, GlobalSF
Troels Adrian and Hayden Kandul, Greater Sacramento Economic Council
Scott Adair, Humboldt County
Patrick Ellis, Murrieta Innovation Center
Tim Kelley and Sean Willcock, Imperial Valley EDC
Alex Andrade, Milpitas
Tahra Goraya, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership
Scott Agaganian, Murrieta
Michael Foote, REACH Central Coast
Kimberly Wright, Riverside County
Tony Yung, Sac China Trade Office
Ryan Niesen, San Bernardino County
Hala Madanat, San Diego State University
Robin Reimold, TeamCA
Rosibel Ochoa, UC Riverside
Larry Holt, World Trade Center Los Angeles
Lucas Coleman, World Trade Center San Diego

At the Summit, GO-Biz hosted a Meet California Breakfast, which featured a panel of experts on California’s startup ecosystem to discuss resources available to help global founders land. This sold-out event allowed the California delegation to network with nearly 100 hand-selected international businesses with interest in expanding to the Golden State.

The delegates reported extremely positive feedback of their experience throughout this series of events. Lee Ann Eager, President & CEO of the Fresno County Economic Development Corporation, which served as GO-Biz’s fiduciary for the Summit, said: “Participating in SelectUSA enabled Fresno County EDC to put our Foreign Direct Investment strategy into action and achieve results in real time with business representatives from around the world. Through this incredible opportunity, we met with over 40 new leads representing 26 industries from 20 countries.”

“Extending our global reach is a key initiative for the state capital region of California’s business community. We were honored to partner with GO-Biz to market Sacramento to international businesses in person for our foreign investment attraction strategy,” said Greater Sacramento Economic Council Senior Vice President Troels Adrian. “In addition to the SelectUSA Summit, this year we hosted a delegation from Taiwan in partnership with GO-Biz. This allowed us to showcase the Sacramento region and market a sector that is particularly important for us, focusing on a climate change industry and zero-emission vehicles.”

Scott Adair of Humboldt County, which hosted the POWER-CA conference, said, “We were thrilled with the outcome of POWER-CA and the collaborative spirit demonstrated by our partners and stakeholders. This event not only showcased the immense potential of Humboldt County as a hub for renewable energy, but it also laid the foundation for meaningful partnerships and initiatives that will drive the transition to a cleaner and more prosperous future.”

California is proud to be the number one U.S. state for jobs supported by international businesses and it continues to be a priority for the Newsom Administration to welcome more international companies to our state. You can follow the GO-Biz International team’s foreign investment attraction efforts by subscribing to their newsletter, following @CAGoBiz on Twitter, and searching for #GoBizInternational across social media platforms.

About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit the GO-Biz website.

Heather Purcell
Deputy Director of Communications
Email Heather, HERE