District officials plan West Coast tech tour: report

For a second year in a row, District officials from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development are heading to the West Coast for a recruitment trip to potentially bring more large tech firms to the District, the Washington Business Journal reports.

District officials did an exploratory trip of this kind last year, where they met with companies like Netflix and Yelp. This year’s recruitment trip scheduled for Feb. 17- 23 will venture through Los Angeles, San Francisco, the Palo Alto, California, area and Portland, Oregon.

For anyone interested in attending, the Washington DC Economic Partnership released a form that can be completed.

“During the mission, participants will interact with entrepreneurs and tech leaders from the public and private sector, as well as have an opportunity to participate in cultural and entertainment events,” WDCEP states.

Kenner declined to to disclose which tech companies they would be meeting with but the mayor is hoping to attract tech companies to D.C. in three specific categories: mobility firms, esports companies to attractive competitive video game tournaments, and those focused on growing jobs with women and people of color. Kenner told WBJ that the trip will include 10 to 20 attendees, and Mayor Muriel Bowser has been invited.

Kenner said he is hoping to return from this trip having planted seeds and building closer relationships with tech firms.

“These companies, just like retailers, are making 50-year decisions,” Kenner told WBJ. “These kinds of things take time.”