Missions Summary
Trade and investment missions promote foreign investment into Colorado and help Colorado companies become more globally competitive. The Global Business Development (GBD) team organizes trade and investment missions every year to strategic markets around the world.
During these missions, Colorado firms, organizations, and government agencies connect with foreign business communities, economic decision-makers, and senior government officials.
Missions are defined as:
- Trade missions help Colorado companies explore trade and investment opportunities in foreign markets
- Investment missions promote foreign direct investment into Colorado
- Combined trade and investment missions are typically led by the Governor or other senior state leadership
Overview
Type: Trade and investment missions
For: Businesses and economic development offices
OEDIT division: Global Business Development
June 2024
To encourage and spur more international investment into Colorado and boost our state’s thriving economy, Governor Polis, officials within the Global Business Development Division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, and a Colorado delegation participated in an investment mission in Denmark, Sweden and Finland. The mission focused on these key industries:
- Entrepreneurship
- Quantum
- Deeptech
- AI
- Clean technologies and renewable energies
- Digital transformation and telecommunications
Why Colorado and the Nordics?
The Nordic countries are known for collaborative initiatives that have propelled Denmark, Sweden and Finland to the forefront of global innovation. The economies of Colorado, Denmark, Finland and Sweden share many competitive strengths that were explored throughout the mission.
Goals of this investment mission were to forge partnerships between government, business and academia; learn from each other’s successes and challenges; explore new strategies for sustainable economic growth; and showcase Colorado’s vibrant economy as a key international partner for investment.
Colorado delegates included representatives from Alquist 3D, Atom Computing, Colorado Health & Tech Centers, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, LongPath Technologies, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), United Airlines, University of Colorado Boulder, VeroTouch, Vescent Technologies, Xairos.
Agenda Focus
Sweden - In Sweden, the Colorado delegation explored several areas of focus: entrepreneurship; deeptech, robotics and AI; clean technologies and renewable energies; and digital transformation and telecommunications. Emphasis was placed on idea exchange, exploring potential new collaborations and contributing to both regions’ goals of a greener future.
Denmark - Colorado and Denmark share a commitment to sustainable practices, the adjacent green economy space, and quantum technologies. The visit focused on new opportunities in wind, solar, and hydrogen energies, as well as energy storage and urban sustainability. Recently designated as a quantum tech hub by the Biden Administration, Colorado aims to foster partnerships and collaborative ventures in this cutting-edge field.
Finland - Finland also shares Colorado’s commitment to sustainable practices, the green economy space and the development of quantum technologies. The delegation celebrated successes achieved through a 2022 Memorandum of Understanding between the State of Colorado and the government of Finland and explored new opportunities in renewable energy, including hydrogen, extreme weather monitoring and sensing, and quantum. The delegation also focused on fostering partnerships and collaborative ventures in quantum.
Trade Shows and Missions
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