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Metro Richmond Export Initiative to be Unveiled Sept. 8

Skyline view of the City of Richmond.
Skyline view of the City of Richmond.

After nearly 18 months of work by Virginia Commonwealth University’s Center for Urban and Regional Analysis and its partners and input from hundreds of businesses and local, state and regional officials, the Metropolitan Richmond Export Initiative will be unveiled on Thurs., Sept. 8, in Chesterfield County.

VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. and Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore will be joined by officials from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Virginia’s Gateway Region, the Greater Richmond Partnership and JPMorgan Chase to discuss the strategy for boosting exports.

The strategy offers a blueprint for the Metro Richmond area over the next four years that builds on Virginia’s push for exporting and the creation of a new trade authority. It also incorporates best practices from several of the Brooking Institute Global City Initiative communities that were benchmarked as part of the Metro Richmond efforts.

“In this changing economic development environment, new ways to create jobs and new capital investment need to be explored,” said Greg Wingfield, senior fellow at CURA, which is part of the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

“With foreign direct investment on the decline in the U.S. and with 85 percent of the world's consumers living outside the United States’ boundaries, exporting goods and services by Metro Richmond businesses is a long-term and sustainable way to continue to grow our economy,” Wingfield said.

The event will take place at Sunday Park at the Boathouse from 4:30-6 p.m. If interested in attending, register here.