The Canadian Bazaar
TORONTO: With small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) forming the backbone of the Canadian economy, this year’s winter gala of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce on December 5 was celebrated as ICCC-SME Expo 2017. It turned out to be an evening of big ideas for entrepreneurs and business people.
The event held at Holliday Inn was attended by Jeff Leal, Ontario minister small businesses, Indian consul general Dinesh Bhatia, business leaders, top economists and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Lauding the ICCC for consistently advocating the cause of Canadian small and medium entrepreneurs, Minister Jeff Leal said the success of SMEs is central to Ontario’s economy as they create most jobs.
Praising the 700,000-strong Indo-Canadian community for its “significant contribution’’ to the economy, Jeff Leal recalled his visit to India and said, “Ontario and Canada have a lot to learn from India.’’
Indian consul general Dinesh Bhatia praised the ICCC for understanding the emerging dynamics of the Canadian and the Indian economies and the role of small businesses in the future.
By pioneering the advocacy and promotion of small businesses during the last decade-and-a-half, the ICCC has carved out a niche for itself, Bhatia said.
Welcoming the guests, ICCC President Kanwar Dhanjal said ICCC-SME Expo 2017 is a great opportunity for small businesses to connect directly with consumers and other businesses.
Customised to meet connectivity needs of small businesses, ICCC-SME Expo 2017 will become a trendsetter in the years to come, said Dhanjal who took over as ICCC president in September.
Dhanjal said the event is an attempt by the ICCC leadership to gear the chamber towards business-oriented programming.
Highlighting the big role of small businesses, Dhanjal said 97.9 percent of businesses in 2016 were small businesses that employed 70.5 percent of the total private labour force.
Small businesses contribute 30 percent to the Canadian GDP, account for 25.2 percent of exports and incur 27 percent of R&D expenditure, Dhanjal said.
Since 78.5 percent of small businesses are service oriented, two panel discussions focussed primarily on the services sector.
Veteran ICCC member Murray Jans moderated the first pane; discussion on `Financing, Support and Startup, Impact of Proposed Tax Changes’. The panelists were Jeff Dennis, Partner at Fasken Martineau; Renu Narang of BDC; and Mike Marshall of CIBC.
Sat Swaminathan moderated the second panel discussion on `Crypto-currency, Fintech and Digital revolution’. The panelists included Rahul Petkar, CEO Intellect Design Arena Inc; Harshvendra Soin; VP & Country Head, Tech Mahindra; and Peter McArthur of the RBC.
The ICCC’s inaugural SME Expo 2017 turned out to be a successful attempt by the new leadership of the Chamber to consolidate its programming and make it more business focussed rather than diaspora focussed.
The event attracted nearly two dozen exhibitors that included small businesses as well as large corporations that are also the ICCC’s partners.
Royce Mendes, director and senior economist at CIBC, delivered the keynote address.
