How does focusing on small-scale manufacturing create local community wealth?

Makers at AirdrieFEST

Small-scale manufacturing businesses help us create thriving places. The person making soap in their kitchen. The screen printer working out of a small studio. The engineer printing a custom 3D part for a large company. These aren't just small businesses - they're the foundation of a resilient local economy. These businesses are hidden gems throughout our community. I have also been and continue to be a maker - with creating products from home goods to wellness.

Focus Area: Building Community Wealth

Today, the power and energy behind local small businesses are more important than ever. These product businesses can access a strong local market alongside a global market building local community wealth, allowing these business owners to bring revenue into the community, globally.

By targeting small-scale manufacturing, the goal is to increase opportunities for more residents to build wealth through entrepreneurship and bring them into mixed-use development, commercial property repositioning within industrial areas, and support local economic development strategies.

When building capacity by working with these entrepreneurs and businesses, they can 'scale-up' production from home-based to commercial industrial areas or downtown areas through co-sharing, makerspaces, and commercial clustering.

Kristen