'Economic gardening' program comes to Niagara County

The Niagara County Center for Economic Development on Tuesday announced the addition of “economic gardening” to its list of economic development programs. In partnership with Invest Buffalo Niagara, Niagara County is offering this program to second-stage companies that are looking to accelerate growth.

Niagara County Commissioner of Economic Development Michael Casale said “economic gardening” is a term used to describe a strategy that focuses on growing the local economy from within. This means helping businesses that are already here grow and expand their operations.

Qualifying criteria for the program include companies with $1-50 million in sales and 10-99 employees. The 2022 funding for the program is designated to assist businesses that are located in the cities of Niagara Falls, North Tonawanda and Lockport plus the Town of Lockport. Businesses in these locations are encouraged to apply. There is no cost to participate in the program.

Invest Buffalo Niagara VP of Business Development Kim Grant said, “ ‘Economic gardening’ helps companies that are ready to grow. The program provides information through database research, geographical information systems, digital marketing, that has led to expanded opportunities and increased revenues. We are excited to expand this program to Niagara County and continue to support our local economy.”

Economic Development Committee Chairman Richard Andres said, “These small to medium-sized companies make up the backbone of our economy, and we want to help them take their business to the next level, which could lead to more jobs and investment in our community.”

Casale said he was thrilled to hear the “economic gardening” program was officially coming to Niagara County.

“ ‘Economic gardening’ will become a very valuable tool in our business growth and retention program tool kit to help our second-stage companies grow.”

Jon DeWald, CEO of HELIXintel, a company that successfully participated in the “economic gardening” program, said, “HELIXintel is focused on growth, and the research that the ‘economic gardening’ team conducted will help us move even faster to connect with businesses that will benefit from using our platform.”

For more information or to apply, go to www.niagaracountybusiness.com/economic-gardening. The application deadline for the 2022 program is Friday, Feb. 25. Questions can be directed to Invest Buffalo Niagara Senior Business Development Specialist Olivia Hill at [email protected].