The Thompson Chamber of Commerce hosted World Trade Centre Winnipeg information officer Nicole Fontaine, who updated members at the Nov. 23 meetingon the services and recent activities of WTC Winnipeg.
The World Trade Centre’s role in Winnipeg largely revolves around its Business Info Centre, of which one is located in every province of Canada as part of the Canadian Business Network (CBN). Like many business services in Manitoba, the info centre provides fledgling entrepreneurs with information for successfully running a business, such as information on taxes, financing, staffing and networking opportunities through partnering chambers of commerce.
The centre also hosts free seminars and webinars one to three times a week, on topics including everything from running a business with a disability, becoming an indigenous entrepreneur or starting a business on-reserve, e-commerce, among others. World Trade Centre Winnipeg also offers BizGrid, a list of Manitoba organizations that work with entrepreneurs, born out of WTC Winnipeg’s membership of the Manitoba Small Business Group, and includes a brief explanation of what each organization does.
Customized research services are another key service provided by the Business Info Centre, which utilizes the CBN’s national reach to provide information such as demographics, statistics, and supplier lists within approximately 48 hours. Fontaine describes how demographic information is invaluable to an entrepreneur:
“We had a lady that wanted to set up a gym, and she wanted to do it in Tuxedo: it’s an affluent part of the city. But after looking at Tuxedo, she found that it was more elderly people who might not necessarily go to the gym, so she went with St. Vital. It saved her a lot of money, compared to her previous hypothesis.”
Of course, WTC Winnipeg is an agency of international commerce, and the organization hosts regular opportunities through its trade services to provide entrepreneurs with opportunities to explore international markets. Most recently, regional managers from Export Development Canada stationed in Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia came to speak at a power brunch hosted in partnership with Global Affairs Canada. “If you were a company that wanted to see markets, and were wondering how to do business in those countries, you could come and meet with that manager,” Fontaine said.
Officials from the centre also make regular missions to international business centres to expand their networking capacity: this year, WTC Winnipeg plans to travel to France to discuss sustainable energy opportunities, along with a more general mission to Los Angeles in the U.S.
Among northern initiatives, WTC hosted a session at Centralia in 2014 (Opportunities in Northern Manitoba), and another in 2016 (Opportunities in the Arctic), featuring community leaders and federal ministers alike. President Derek Earl also attended the Hudson Bay regional roundtable in Rankin Inlet. WTC Winnipeg has also been working with Opaskwayak Cree Nation to create partnerships surrounding their vertical farming efforts, with partners extending as far away as South Korea.
