Kurt Benson

Kurt Benson knows what it’s like to be the new guy in town. After moving from Zimbabwe to Toronto as a teen and discovering everything was different from the small East African country he knew, he understands what immigrants are going through. “With so many cultural differences, that settling in process is extremely rough,” he said.

Although Kurt moved to Halifax less than a year ago, his connections in the business world made it relatively easy to start two businesses, Magnified Public Relations and a sports entertainment agency called Tidal League. He chose Halifax because “there’s a lot of excitement, innovation, diversity, new people coming here,” he said. “I saw opportunity in a growing market.”

He views working as a Connector with the Halifax Partnership as an opportunity to help drive population growth. “What better way to do it but to connect new people and graduates with influential people so we can get them jobs?” After connecting with over 10 new grads and immigrants, one success story stands out. Kurt was able to help Eduardo, an immigrant from Brazil, make connections at networking events. With his background in Engineering and project management, Eduardo used those connections to build a network in the city, and received multiple offers and accepted a position at Proposify, a Halifax startup.

“That is what the program is all about – referring people and providing them with opportunities.”