The NWT government’s business assistance wing has a new name to stop people mixing it up with a separate federal initiative.
The territory’s Business Development and Investment Corporation, never the most snappy name to remember, was normally abbreviated to BDIC.
That caused problems because the federal Business Development Bank of Canada, which does broadly similar things, is known as BDC. As a result, confusion blossomed when entrepreneurs tried to get help from one, the other or both.
This week, BDIC announced a name change that has been in the works for months. It will now be known as Prosper NWT.
When the name change was being considered among MLAs last year – it’s a government agency so even its name needs political consultation, apparently – it’s fair to say the response to “Prosper NWT” as a choice was mixed.
“Am I in love with Prosper NWT? Maybe not,” said Caitlin Cleveland, who was at the time a regular MLA and is now responsible for Prosper NWT as the industry minister, although it is designed to be run at arm’s length.
“I don’t personally think it’s a great thing,” added then-MLA Kevin O’Reilly, who complained that the name wasn’t the subject of any public engagement.
Caroline Wawzonek, the minister who oversaw most of BDIC’s rebranding process, defended the choice in October last year.
“I am confident that the new name is a well-informed, meaningful, and strategic choice made only after significant research,” she said at the time.
“A comprehensive and professional approach was taken to arrive to this name, a process that is typically followed by many other companies and organizations, balancing stakeholder engagement with the expertise of branding professionals, legal considerations, and the organization’s overall goals and vision.”
BDIC will gradually start using its new name over the months to come.
If all of this leaves you wondering what BDIC actually is and does, it currently occupies prime retail real estate on downtown Yellowknife’s Franklin Avenue and exists to support the territory’s businesses and entrepreneurs with finance and advice.
That support ranges from small grants to get new ideas off the ground through to loans and investments that can total millions of dollars. BDIC, now Prosper NWT, also counts several regional craft centres as subsidiaries.
“The business landscape has experienced a transformation over the last decade, and it is important that the organization evolves and adapts to these changes as well,” Prosper NWT chief executive Joyce Taylor was quoted as saying in a news release on Tuesday.
“The name and logo represent our commitment to helping businesses thrive and prosper in the Northwest Territories, and our work to support a bright economic future.”
BDIC’s board includes Marie-Soleil Lacoursiere, Rosalind Mercredi, Gregory Merrithew, Patrick Scott and Garth Wallbridge from Yellowknife, Soham Srimani from Nahanni Butte, and Misty Ireland and Brad Mapes from Hay River.
