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The Annual East Bay Economic Forecast meeting will take place Friday May 8, 2009 at the
San Ramon Marriott. The Forecast will be sponsored by PG&E and is the
premier East Bay event providing expert insight into the future of the East Bay economy from the nation’s leading independent economic forecasting authority - the UCLA Anderson School.
Please note the location has changed from that announced in an earlier notice and will now be held at the
San Ramon Marriott (2600 Bishop Drive, San Ramon, 94583), May 8, 2009 from 8:00am-10:00am. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
Free parking for the event will be provided to all East Bay EDA members and guests.
There is no cost to attend this event, but seating is limited. Contact Stephanie Brown at (510) 272-6843 with any questions.
Register today!
The 2009 Retreat was held at the Ohlone College
Newark Center (click
here to see other photos from the 2009 event)
On April 10, 2009 the East Bay EDA's Board of Directors met for their annual retreat at the Ohlone College Newark Campus. The half day
event provided an opportunity for the Board members to evaluate East Bay EDA's
performance and set the organizations program priorities for the coming year. This year's retreat
featured a mid-quarter forecast from UCLA Senior Economist Jerry Nickelsburg who discussed the impact of the recession on the East Bay's industry sectors.
Sean Randolph, President & CEO of the Bay Area
Council Economic Institute presented information
about Bay Area's
"Regional Economic Recovery Plan"
which is being prepared by the Institute.
The Retreat closed with four discussion groups
focused on the East Bay EDA workplan for the
coming fiscal year, as well as potential
projects to be submitted to the Bay Area
Economic Recovery Plan. The workgroups
were Business Development, Workforce
Development, Science & Innovation and Regional
Infrastructure and were each lead by East Bay
EDA Officers.
View highlights from the Retreat.
East Bay EDA would like to give special recognition and thanks to this year's
event planning committee, chaired by Ken Mercer of ValleyCare Health System.
The committee also included Newark Mayor David Smith and Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi.
Green Business & Sustainable Business Alliance are teaming up to present a special event:
Operating LEAN & GREEN in a MEAN Economy.
The event will feature a panel discussion focused on strategies to stay in business and emerge stronger as the economy improves and will be moderated by Joel Makower of Greener World Media, Inc.
This event will be held Thursday April 30th from 5:30 - 7:30PM at the
Bort Metro Auditorium in Oakland.
Register today!
Despite it being a down year for venture capital nationally, it was a great year for East Bay venture capital, thanks to alternative energy. Nationally, the number of VC deals in 2008 sagged 4% and the amount invested declined 8%. This was the first year since 2003 to see a national decline. In the East Bay, however, 140 companies pulled in $1.6 billion in venture investments for a 10.2% increase in deals and a whopping 32.1% increase in funding over 2007. In fact three of the six largest investments during the year went to the East Bay – all for solar projects.
Quite clearly, in 2008, alternative energy was at the root of the East Bay’s good fortune. Based on data from Thomson Reuters and published quarterly by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association in their MoneyTree reports, venture investments in East Bay solar, biofuel, fuel cell and battery technologies increased by a very healthy $410.4 million pushing the East Bay total to $511.6 million. Put another way, venture capitalists invested one fourth (24.8%) of all their 2008 alternative energy funding in the East Bay. As a result, the total $1.6 billion received by companies in all industries in the East Bay’s two counties exceeded the total received by any other state in the nation except for California and Massachusetts.
To be sure, 2008 will be remembered as an exceptional year for the East Bay, but it would be wrong to consider this a one year fluke. For example, in 2007 East Bay research institutions, led by Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley, successfully competed to attract two major biofuels R&D centers. These centers, combined with VC investments from that year, brought over $1 billion to bear on biofuel and other alternative energy development. At this writing, venture capital numbers for the first quarter of 2009 are not yet out, but already an East Bay company, Solyndra, has received a $535M federal loan to expand production facilities for its proprietary solar modules. And, in an early distribution of stimulus funds, Berkeley Lab announced in March that it has received $115 million for new facilities.
Because the East Bay’s numbers are routinely aggregated within numbers for “Silicon Valley” or the “San Francisco Bay Area,” this sub-region is not well known nationally. Apparently, however, foreign companies are beginning to take notice of the existing R&D, workforce and clustering of companies. Over the past month at least four international companies representing alternative energy and other related “clean technologies” have inquired about the availability of East Bay sites.
All of this serves to demonstrate that the East Bay has become one of the nation’s most important centers for the development of innovative energy technologies. It also demonstrates that in times of economic turmoil, the East Bay is extremely fortunate to have a diversified economic base anchored by strong public and private research and development.
The San Francisco Business Times is looking for Bay Area companies to profile in our small business section. To qualify, a company must have annual revenue between $1 million and $50 million and be willing to share revenue with Business Times readers.
A company must also be independently owned and be based in the Business Times' coverage area: Alameda County, Contra Costa County, San Francisco County, Marin County, San Mateo County and the city of Palo Alto.
To be considered for coverage, please contact Emily Fancher, small business editor by email or telephone at 415-288-4948.
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