Trade mission in Canada
From March 16-18, the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce organized a trade mission to Montreal, Canada in the framework of the Americana trade fair to which an accompanied visit took place. 9 Luxembourg companies registered for the trade mission comprising mainly companies from the Cleantech industry and from the BusinessMentoring program of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce.
The BusinessMentoring program for entrepreneurs targets the personal development of business leaders who are well versed in their fundamental technical skills but need extra guidance in other areas. The program launched in Luxembourg is particularly intended for "young" entrepreneurs whose companies find themselves in the startup (less than 3 years), development (after 3 years) or transfer (whether family-based or not) phase.
The participants visited the International Environmental Technology Trade show, Americana. This trade show is recognized as one of the leading multisectorial events of its kind in North America. It is a forum for the exchange of knowledge and practical experience, providing environmental and economic solutions. Americana celebrated its 20th anniversary this year and gathered around 350 exhibitors, 200 speakers and 10,000 participants from more than 50 countries under the theme of "Sharing Innovation". The main focus of the Americana was on water and soil solutions. Unfortunately, renewable energies were not one of the core themes.
Americana 2015 officially began with an International welcoming reception. More than 200 foreign participants attended this networking opportunity that took place in a friendly and cordial setting. Americana also arranged individual business meetings with local companies and institutions for the participating companies using their b2b platform.
In addition, the Luxembourg delegation had the opportunity to visit the Port of Montreal where Yves Gilson, chief marketing director presented the port's activities. The Port of Montreal's strategic geographic location allows it to reach more than 100 million consumers by train in less than 36 hours. Montreal is the leading container port in Eastern Canada and a major international port linked to more than 80 countries around the world. Its main link to the EU market is via the port of Antwerp which has a well established link to Luxembourg and beyond.
The Ecotech cluster of Québec invited the Luxembourg delegation to their event Cookies and Opportunities which aimed at showcasing the key projects and priorities that will require the contribution of clean technologies in Montreal and in the rest of Canada. Stakeholders in the Montreal Metropolitan Area, the Government of Quebec and Sustainable Development Technology Canada were present. In addition, a new cleantech accelerator was revealed.
A country seminar on bilateral relations and opportunities in Luxembourg for Canadian companies was organized in collaboration with the Chambre de Commerce de Montréal Metropolitain. For this occasion, Jean-Claude Knebeler, Director of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in New-York was present. Some 40 Canadian companies came to assess the potential of Luxembourg for their business. According to Industry Canada, currently 235 Quebec companies export their products to Luxembourg and there are 28 Quebec multinationals in our country.
BusinessMentoring Luxembourg joined the mentoring network for entrepreneurs (Réseau M) of the Fondation de l'entrepreneurship (FDE) in March 2014. This Network is an initiative of the FDE, a community of interest "of and for" entrepreneurs, featuring support services for business leaders available in Québec, Europe (France and Luxembourg) and North-Africa, no matter what sector they operate in or what stage of development their business is at. By developing Réseau M on an international basis, the FDE wishes to create an unprecedented movement for accompanying "young" entrepreneurs in their quest for success.
Since 2013, entrepreneurs mentored within Réseau M can count on the Program for Accompanying and Sponsoring Young Entrepreneurs on International Missions. Through this initiative, cohorts of "young" mentored entrepreneurs are now able to shape their international business plan by going for the first time on a mission abroad with the help of the FDE and its strategic partners.
In this specific context, 4 mentees from the Luxemburg mentoring scheme, supported by the Chamber of Commerce joined the Luxembourg delegation during the trade mission to Canada.
During these 3 days, the mentees had the opportunity to discover two main management consulting organizations in Montreal, SAJE Montréal Centre of excellence and SAJE accompagnateur d'entrepreneurs, whose mission is to stimulate, promote, and support the start-up and expansion of small-and medium-sized businesses in Quebec through consulting services, coaching, training and mentoring (via Réseau M).
The Réseau M also welcomed the mentees within Québecor's offices for a general presentation of current entrepreneurial projects monitored by the FDE including, Moovjee and Ça te branche, and of key indicators concerning entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial culture in Quebec.
The group of mentees also had the opportunity to visit a fully-dedicated gluten-free brewery based in Montreal. Established in 2010 by long-time friends Julien Niquet and David Cayer, the Glutenberg microbrewery has so far created several award-winning beers as well as seasonal vinified ice beers, in the Série Gastronomie created in collaboration with world-renowned sommelier Franc?ois Chartier. Glutenberg microbrewery products can be found at over 800 retailers in Québec and in the rest of Canada, as well as in 14 American States, Europe and Brazil. The brewery is booming thanks to its boundless quest for excellence in the creation of new and innovative products.
Greater Montreal's business environment is favorable to innovative companies working in the field of clean technology that seek sustained growth on export markets. Together, the province of Quebec and its economic centre Greater Montreal enjoy a strong potential in clean tech thanks to the province's natural market, a critical mass of engineering and high-quality training available to engineers and technicians. Quebec is well known for its creativity and high-tech industries - such as aerospace and life sciences - and is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the clean technology sector with its more than 500 SMEs and 200 R&D centers in various sub-sectors.
Companies that wish to export their products to Canada will soon benefit from better trade conditions. The Comprehensive Trade and Economic Agreement (CETA) which is being negotiated between the EU and Canada will offer EU firms more and better business opportunities in Canada. CETA will tackle a whole range of issues and trade barriers to make business with Canada easier. It will remove customs duties, end limitations in access to public contracts, open-up services' market, and offer predictable conditions for investors.
