The City of Laval says it has signed a strategic alliance agreement with Groupe 3737, an organization that promotes ecosystem entrepreneurialism while encouraging economic development, job and wealth creation and diversity, in order to accelerate business and economic values in cities.
“By associating ourselves with Groupe 3737, Laval shows one more time that it is a leader in terms of diversity and inclusion and that immigration is one of the engines for creating wealth as well as economic and social development,” said Laval executive-committee vice-president and deputy mayor Stéphane Boyer.
As part of the agreement, the city’s economic development department will be working closely with Groupe 3737.
“With several Laval-based companies being followed by us already since we started, it was only logical and synergistic for Group 3737 to reach this collaborative agreement with the city,” said Groupe 3737 CEO and general manager Louis-Edgar Jean-François.
“With its actions, the City of Laval demonstrates clearly the importance it accords to diversity and inclusion and economic engines. The confirmation of this agreement is yet one more proof of this.”
According to the city, Laval is the second most important city in Quebec as a point of entry for immigrants, and more than half of the population of Laval is the result of immigration, including second-generation immigrants.
In 2018, entrepreneurial indicators for Laval suggested that immigrants are nearly twice as likely to be inclined towards entrepreneurialism compared to others (35 per cent versus 16. 5 per cent).
Among immigrants in Laval, 18.7 per cent are involved in the creation of a business, which is a rate clearly higher compared to the reading in 2014 when it was 11.9 per cent. The rate is also slightly higher that the rest of Quebec (17.3 per cent).
Out of 161 recent dossiers at the City of Laval’s economic development department dealing with the creation of businesses, 65 per cent concerned entrepreneurial projects started by immigrants.
Entrepreneurs and business owners in Laval who would like to receive counselling from experts in business solutions for strategic growth options can contact the City of Laval’s economic development department at 450 978-5959 or by e-mail at lavaleconomique@laval.ca.
