DETROIT – On Thursday, TechTown launched its International Soft Landings program, designed to ease the transition overseas companies face when they enter the U.S. market by providing them with business services that speed up the establishment of an international branch. TechTown is Wayne State University’s 43-acre research and technology park currently incubating more than 50 companies.
The program has the potential to draw international firms that are interested in trading with Canada through the NAFTA agreement, which could lead to significant job creation in Detroit and the state. Already, the program has received interest from companies in China, eastern Europe, Sweden and South Korea.
ISL recently reached an agreement with TechBA, a program created by the Mexican Ministry of Economy, with the objective of helping high-technology Mexican companies in the automotive industry establish collaborations with Tier I and II suppliers in Michigan. More than 11 Mexican companies are currently located in TechTown as a part of the agreement.
TechTown Executive Director Randal Charlton feels that TechTown’s location on an international border gives ISL a distinct advantage.
“I’ve surveyed business incubators around the world, and I’ve found that successful incubators are distinguished because of their soft landings features,” Charlton said. “Our strategic location on the Canadian border sets us up as an international gateway for trade.”
The ISL program allows international companies to focus on growing their businesses by supplying them with everything they expect to find in an established office.
One of the benefits of joining ISL is gaining access to its affiliated academic institutions, which include Wayne State University, the University of Windsor, Tecnol??gica de Monterrey in Mexico and the University of Detroit Mercy. These affiliates provide research laboratories, engineering resources and interns for businesses focused on technology, the automotive industry, life sciences and alternative energy.
TechTown is an urban community of entrepreneurs, investors, mentors and corporate partners creating an internationally influential entrepreneurial village in Detroit. TechTown brings the resources of Wayne State University to high-technology startup companies so as to diversify and strengthen Michigan’s economy in the fields of life sciences, advanced engineering and alternative energy.
For more information, click on TechTown.WSU.Org
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