Western Iowa Advantage: Helping Businesses Succeed!

What is Western Iowa Advantage and how is it helping local businesses succeed? Western Iowa Advantage (WIA) is a collaboration of economic development officials from 8 different counties in Western Iowa, including Adair, Audubon, Carroll, Crawford, Greene, Guthrie, Ida, and Sac counties. The organization’s main mission is to help the counties work together collaboratively in economic development efforts. This includes effectively marketing the economic assets of the region, providing incentives and programs to businesses in the area, and providing detailed information on the counties and their business climate. Providing this information freely to the general public is expected to help businesses looking for a place to locate find the best possible location for their business. Western Iowa Advantage also provides detailed profiles on each county and the region as a whole. It is the mission of this consortium to attract business to the region and overall help all businesses in the area thrive and succeed!

This collaborative effort by the WIA is expected to increase job creation rates and lower unemployment rates in the area. This is good news for local residents and commuters who are looking for employment. With new businesses coming into the region this gives the unemployed residents more options and opportunities for employment. Job creation is particularly expected to increase in the industries of manufacturing, renewable energy, and biosciences. There are many industries thriving in Western Iowa. Among the most successful are the Manufacturing, Agricultural, Biosciences, Food Processing, and Data and IT industries. Other thriving industries in the region are also expected to increase job creation rates. Another main goal of WIA is to help boost the region’s local economy, increased job creation through the attraction of new business is one way we are achieving this goal.

So, what are the incentives of choosing Western Iowa to locate your business? WIA offers new and current businesses alike plenty of incentives and resources to help ensure the success of a business in the area. Workforce training and development is a major resource offered in the region. WIA also offers a job creation program for businesses as well as a collaborative marketing group that helps businesses with their marketing strategies. WIA’s new website offers a wealth of resources and tools freely available to the public! County demographics and profiles, data on the workforce and laborshed, a site selector database, information on top employers of the area, and in-depth maps of the area, to name a few. All of the information on the WIA website is meant to give potential businesses all the information they need to choose the best area in the region to locate to. Business owners and investors are urged to visit the WIA website to find out all you need to know about the region!

Western Iowa Advantage is well on its way to achieving their goals of helping businesses succeed in their expanding and thriving communities. This collaborative group works together to provide potential businesses with in-depth information on the area and its business climate and available properties. Each county in this region has its own unique incentives and opportunities, leaving new businesses with a wealth of options to choose from! Businesses looking to relocate or expand to a new area should consider Western Iowa. Western Iowa Advantage is excited to help your business succeed! If you are looking for the right place for your business, please visit our website at westerniowaadvantage.com for more information and find the right location for your business!

If you would like to contact Western Iowa Advantage directly for more information on the region, please contact Shannon Landauer or Evan Blakley at s.landauer@carrolliowa.com or eblakley@cdcia.org.