Inverness Chamber of Commerce lines up trade visits to Canada
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Highland businesses are getting the chance to explore opportunities on the other side of the Atlantic.
Inverness Chamber of Commerce is organising two trips to Canada with a visit to the Francophone province of Quebec in March, followed by Ontario in May.
The so-called trade missions aim to build on existing connections between the Highlands and Canada, where links have already been established with Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Montreal Metropolitan Chamber.
Sarah Maltman, the chamber’s international trade programmes manager, expects these ties to become even more prominent.
“From what we are seeing, Canada is becoming a popular market and there are a lot of opportunities for Scottish companies,” she said. “The Canadian way of doing business is quite similar to the UK, so the ease of doing business is also attractive.”
The visit to Quebec will have a particular emphasis on the IT and technology sectors as the chamber visit coincides with an international technology conference, which takes place on March 25 and 26 in Montreal.
In Ontario there will be a wide focus on potential opportunities for businesses from such sectors as IT, food and drink, professional and business services, finance, arts and culture tourism and education.
Both trips will include visits to technology and life sciences sites, allowing an exchange of information and experiences from businesses to see what similarities, challenges and opportunities they might share.
“There is a lot to learn for the companies who choose to come along,” Miss Maltman added.
“Quebec and Ontario are both very different. We wanted to make sure there are opportunities for a variety of the sectors we are working with.”
As well as its Canadian counterparts, the chamber is also working with other agencies to arrange the visit including Scottish Development International, the Department for International Trade and the GlobalScot entrepreneurial network.
Both trips are open to any Scottish company, from any sector and of any size. There is no requirement to be a chamber member.
“We are just keen to encourage Scottish companies to grow overseas, and we hope that by doing these missions to Canada, we will help them do that,” Miss Maltman explained.
Between the two Canadian trips, Inverness chamber is also arranging a visit to Munich, following the success of a previous delegation to the German city.
The Quebec visit takes place during the week commencing March 23, and the Munich trip the week beginning April 27. The Ontario visit will take place the week beginning May 25. For more, email international@inverness-chamber.co.uk
