LatAm Startups

Go South! Consulting, the folks who run LatAm Startups, will be holding free training sessions for Canadian high-tech companies that want to scale into the booming Latin American markets.

The first training session will be held in Toronto on June 7, 2016 at MaRS in downtown Toronto--grab your free ticket now on EventBrite—seats will fill up fast!

The training sessions are funded and supported by Startup Canada and Export Development Canada (EDC), and thus free for Canadian startups who wish to attend.

Startup Canada wrote in their official announcement:

Startup Canada (StartupCan.ca) and Export Development Canada (EDC.ca) announced the recipients of the Adam Chowaniec Memorial Fund for Global Entrepreneurship today. The Fund invests in high-impact initiatives that advance the prospects of Canada’s globally oriented, entrepreneur-led companies.

The recipients are:

Go South! Consulting Inc., a business development company, based in Vancouver and Toronto, that specializes in helping Canadian companies connect with Latin American markets. The funding will be used for training sessions to provide Canadian entrepreneurs with the information they need to break into the markets of Colombia, Peru, Chile and Mexico.

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Named in memory of Dr. Adam Chowaniec, founding Chairman of the Startup Canada and board member of EDC, the Fund aims to drive awareness and elevate the ambitions of Canadian entrepreneurs about international and export opportunities for growth; and build capacity of the Canadian startup community to advance the prospects of local globally-oriented entrepreneur-led companies.

The recipients of the Fund were announced at Startup Canada Day on the Hill, the largest gathering of entrepreneurs, innovators, anchor companies, investors, media personalities, Ministers, Members of Parliament, and public servants to unlock the entrepreneurial potential of every Canadian and to create an Innovation Agenda that works for Canada.

Quick Facts

With 13 per cent of the working-age population involved with entrepreneurship, Canada has the second-highest level of entrepreneurial activity in the world, according to a 2015 study by the Centre for Innovation Studies in Calgary.

10 per cent of Canadian small- and medium-sized businesses exported goods and services globally in 2011. Businesses that export are found to generate higher sales and do more research and development compared to non-exporters.

“If Canada is to become a true global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship, our startups and small business owners must be supported to reach their full growth potential as they explore and pursue export opportunities” said Victoria Lennox, CEO and co-founder of Startup Canada. “The Adam Chowaniec Memorial Fund for Global Entrepreneurship connects entrepreneurs to such opportunities through export-oriented programming that provide startups with the resources to scale.”

“During a long and successful career in Canada’s tech community, Adam was involved in starting, growing, and selling more than a dozen companies, and remained a champion of entrepreneurship in Canada,” says Paul Day, Vice-President, Investments. “EDC is proud to honour his memory by partnering with Startup to help entrepreneurs across the country get off the ground.”

“The booming Latin American markets are the ideal destination for many Canadian startups expanding businesses,” says Miryam Lazarte, co-founder of Go South! Consulting. “Governments building modern infrastructure, 800 million consumers, B2B, B2C…there has never been a better time for Canadians to ‘Go South!'”

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“In challenging economic times, it is imperative that entrepreneurs seek opportunities in new markets. The innovation and quality of the products and services manufactured in the Leduc-Nisku region of Alberta in the energy and agriculture industries is valued around the world. Now is the time to encourage small business in Alberta to seek out export markets. Our event will provide practical tools and information to help those businesses start their path to discovering new market opportunities,” says Barbara Engelbart McKenzie, Executive Director, Leduc-Nisku Economic Development Association.