Top photo, the Africa Business Day Forum in 2022. The bottom photos are attendees at the 2023 African Trade Conference as they explored trade opportunities and toured the region's entrepreneurial ecosystem, including a visit to the Lacey MakerSpace. Thurston County – impacted by international trade and opportunities In 2003, the Thurston Economic [...]

APEX Accelerator – A strategy for business retention and market expansion The EDC's core mission is to drive new dollars into our local businesses. We work to retain the businesses currently operating in the county and ensure that we also create opportunities to expand our local and regional economy.   In the early 2000s, we [...]

Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy by Michael Cade, Thurston EDC Executive Director It’s no secret that Thurston County is growing. The most recently available data for our annual GDP (which represents the value of goods and services produced within Thurston County) has now surpassed 17.6 billion dollars – nearly double what it was [...]

Manufacturing: A Critical Building Block of Our Strong and Diverse Local Economy In the past several weeks, many have noted the vibrancy of Thurston County’s economy, the growth in terms of employment, emerging markets, and the development of new sectors expanding our region’s economic conditions. Two decades ago, the local economy was [...]