The government of Newfoundland and Labrador has given a $3.5-million forgivable loan to hot Canadian e-learning start up, Desire2Learn, to convince it to open up an office in the province which will help generate 35 jobs within the next 5 years. Desire2Learn has 560 people working for the company in the United States, Europe, Brazil, Australia and Singapore. If Desire2Learn meets certain government benchmarks they will not need to pay back the loan given out by the NL government. The announcement came after three years of negotiations between the government and the e-learning firm.
President and CEO John Baker stated that, “We’re trying to build a company that’s really trying to transform the way the world learns. We’re trying to build a company that’s really trying to transform the way the world learns.” He went on to say that, “And to get the support of the community here, both on the business side, the academic and government [sides], is an incredible start for us to build a great company here in Newfoundland.”
Baker went on to add that Desir2Learn will be hiring people in a number of different positions. He commented that, “We’re hoping for a lot of research and development. Service support, business development, marketing, sales — basically, any kind of role that we have in the organization, we’re making available here.” Baker also added that the jobs will all be stationed in St. John’s but the staff will be able to do their jobs from any location within the province.
Keith Hutchings, the Innovation Minister and the head of the administration for the business attraction fund, was very excited about the deal and firmly believes the agreement would help the local industry grow. He added that, “The company did recognize this is a growing community, in terms of the business sector.” He went on to say that, “They like the business environment. They like what’s happening in Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Source: CBC
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