Canada Calling: Land of opportunities for SMEs

BANGALORE, INDIA: Canada is often perceived as an exotic place for holidaying, but on the contrary, it is fast becoming a place for global innovation. At a time when Indian companies are having dynamic influence globally, Ontario in Canada is walking that extra mile to achieve competitive advantage by establishing a long-term business relationship with India.

Shouldering the responsibility of hand holding Indian companies, especially SMEs, seize investment opportunities in Ontario is Aaron Rosland, the Counsellor (Commercial - Ontario), head of the Ontario International Marketing Centre in India.

With a mandate to raise the profile of Ontario in India, IMC facilitates bi-lateral trade and investment between India and Ontario, promotes Ontario products and services, facilitates meetings between Ontario suppliers and Indian buyers.

If access to innovation, business eco-system and tax credits are what SMEs are looking for, they have every reason to go to Ontario. And, they can draw some inspiration from companies like Subex and Zylog which have already established a firm base there. Mahindra Satyam has

announced a research centre in collaboration with the University of Waterloo. Tech Mahindra has a research centre in Toronto.

 

In an interaction with Preeti S of CIOL, Aaron Rosland said that both countries have lots to learn from each other and the best part of he being in India is that he acts as a link between SMEs and Canadian government. "SMEs can approach me anytime about anything. We want them to know business opportunities offered by Ontario," he says.

Excerpts:

CIOL: Business environment in Ontario and India are completely different. How do you think SMEs can cope with it?

Aaron: It's a challenge for any company doing international business. It's about understanding the rhythms of requirements and expectations. Addressing those challenges is the fundamental motive of IMC. We are well placed to help companies, navigate them through different requirements.

I want to tell Indian SMEs that I am in Delhi to handhold them to do business in Ontario. Over the five years, there has been a significant 70 pc increase in trade between the two countries, thanks to a strong Indo-Canadian population. With over 8000 Indo-Canadian population, Indian investments in Canada has been extremely positive experience for Indians. Still, lots can be done through connections with academicians, industry and government.

CIOL: What sort of help can SMEs expect once they are in Ontario?

Aaron: We are working on a programme to help Indian companies easily go into the market. We introduce them to colleges and universities where they can access talent and we connect them.

Universities actually help recruit students or graduates and take them through the whole process of recruitment. We work with the companies planning to come to Ontario to establish their presence connecting with buyers, helping them select locations, etc. We also provide information on human resources, plans for accounting etc.

The help is available at all levels starting from provincial government. Municipal offices have officers dedicated to help these companies. The nice thing of having me in Delhi is I am the link between Indian companies and Canadian government. So, they can approach me anytime and I would see that they take it forward. It is the way to develop international business. And mainly it's free of cost.

CIOL: Cost has always been a major concern for Indian SMEs, how do you help them cope with it?

Aaron: Cost is a challenge when you come from a place where you can access best talent at lower cost and you move to a country like Canada that has world-class talent but is more expensive, obviously than India.

That is why we have tax credits to reduce labour costs for companies. We know we can't compete against India, but we are competing against other jurisdictions that have market that Indian companies want to tap into but find it expensive.

It's about understanding what assistance is available. More than cost it is about quality and support. It comes down to innovation and research and eco-system that people want to be part of and to stimulate more ideas and global leadership.

CIOL: What are the advantages of dong business in both countries?

Aaron: SMEs will feel at home in Ontario because of positive reception they receive and not to forget there is a sizeable Indian population.

At times, companies are surprised by the turnaroud time they take to ramp up their business and production in Ontario. Here, when people are job-ready, companies need not spend on money and time on training, instead use the same towards market and operational production expenses.

Ontario companies are extremely pleased with the quality of human resources in India-- intelligent, hardworking, innovative and competitive.

CIOL: What are the challenges faced by Canadian companies in India?

Aaron: Firstly, it is the distance and building relations. Ontario companies are traditionally focused on US, but India is growing interest to them. Second, it's the commitment to resources essential to do business. Companies need to manage resources internationally.

Understanding the product or service is relevant to India as the needs of both countries are different and markets are different. So, they need to know how to adopt our products or services to Indian market.

We are working towards bridging the distance and helping them resolve resource issues. Also, raise the profile as Indian companies not necessarily look at Canada, especially Ontario, for tech innovation or IT, as much as they do at the US. But Ontario is the heartland of tech innovation. Even Google recruits many of its employees from the University of Waterloo.

CIOL: How does Canada view doing business in India? Is it just a market centre or a production centre for Canada?

Aaron: India has lower cost of labour and business compared to rest of the world. Ontario positions itself as a low-cost jurisdiction compared to America. Both sides you can access innovation, highly skilled and educated workforce, taking advantages of cost components, lower taxes and low cost of facilities. So we don't just want to sell products but have a presence in India and have a long sustainable relationship.

CIOL: Which are the strategic sectors for Canadian companies to come to India?

Aaron: Research in IT in automobile sector is happening through the University of Waterloo. Many companies are trying to access this research in green automotive, digital media and IT, there is lots of interest in gaming. Ontario is the heartland of digital media of Canada.

There is a research collaboration. Many IT companies are looking at digital gaming and IT and HR management. Mahindra Satyam has announced a research centre in collaboration with the University of Waterloo. Tech Mahindra has a research centre in Toronto.

We have Ontario Centre of Excellence, which allows industry to leverage funds that academia and government are putting into research. Many companies want to be part of the this industry-government collaboration and they want to be in stable economic environment, which is offered by Canada.

Another sector is IT in water where quality of water is monitored. We want to bring that technology to India.

CIOL: What are the lessons India can draw from Canada?

Aaron: Both countries have lots to learn from each other. India is a place of great entrepreneurs and is brimming with ideas. We want to grab that energy and dynamism from India. From our end, we offer the ability for industry-government-academia to work together to commercialize sectors. Ontario's IT policy has been good. We have tax credits to encourage entrepreneurs in R&D sector.

Indian companies are increasingly becoming global minded and are extremely strategic in how they approach and understand what they are looking for and understand the need for cross fertilization of ideas and training.

India just needs to know more about what Ontario is doing and believe that it is the place to do business.