Program overview

The ACHA Foreign Direct Investment Strategy aims to provide Community Investments programs (financial literacy, and economic empowerment) that supports Canadian communities and families in Alberta through capacity building. This will enable them to attract, retain and expand foreign direct investment thereby creating jobs for Canadians, fostering innovation and increasing exports in products and service. The ACHA, is an incorporated Canadian not for profit organization registered in Alberta through Societies Act will facilitate an expansion of its international business operations in Canada with a social enterprise. An Executive Director will manage the local operations based out of its Edmonton Regional Office. 

This strategy helps ACHA to strengthen its social enterprise at the Edmonton City Centre, and establish its international meetings, incentives, conferences, entertainment and sports offerings. The plan is to develop marketing tools, conduct training of its team, carry out research and develop a multi-year plan and develop a database of its global network of partners. The purpose of the strategy is aimed to attract, coordinate and retain foreign investors through an ACHA Invest Edmonton initiative to be launched in 2026. 

The five pillars of the strategy include: 

1. Strategic planning and analysis for FDI
2. Developing FDI tools and materials
3. Conducting DFI training
4. Generating leads and meetings with potential foreign investors
5. Strengthening partnerships and global networks

• Research to identify targets, conduct comparative analysis, develop business cases, prepare business retention and expansion studies
• Collect community and economic data for investment profiles
• Develop strategic FDI plans, conduct community engagements and consultations
• Conduct a survey for revamping the ACHA website with multilingual components

• Design and layout of promotional material (print or electronic)
• Software customization (but not the cost of software license or off-the-shelf add-on modules)
• Conduct a major redesign of the ACHA website and translation of documents into French and English
• Production of marketing and promotional materials including videos, flyers, brochures, etc.

• Organize FDI customized training and attraction seminar as part of the community’s investment attraction and retention strategy for employees of ACHA and its community partners and follow up with potential investors

Partnerships

• Part of this strategy will solidify partnerships with other organizations on its FDI strategy
• Seek diversified sources of funding at municipal, provincial and federal levels and partners for implementation support and marketing initiatives?