Economic Development Strategy

The Kitchener Economic Development Strategy (KEDS) is based on five areas of focus:

Start-up City

By nurturing our entrepreneurial culture and by leveraging key start-up successes, Kitchener continues to be a great place to start a business, with the best programs, facilities and community support for businesses to graduate to global success.

Leading-Edge Cluster Building

Fostering internationally competitive, high-value clusters and facilitating cross-cluster collaboration between industries, educational institutions and government, creates new opportunities to diversify and strengthen the local economy.

Becoming a Talent Magnet

By ensuring that Kitchener is the best place for skilled dreamers and doers to live, local businesses can access the talent they need to thrive. By ensuring that we help our workforce adjust when industry shifts.

Dynamic Downtown

New opportunities are endless as downtown Kitchener is established as one of the coolest downtowns in North America.

Innovation District

By leveraging investments in the light rapid transit and GO transit, we are rebranding and fostering the Warehouse District as one of the province's premier multi-disciplinary centres of innovation, with the potential to accommodate as many as 19,000 more dreamers and doers.