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  • 09 Jan 2017 9:00 AM | Anonymous
    India Mission 2017 –first leg
     
    ICCC inks 3 MoUs with new Partners in Success  
     
    Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry
    Bharat Chamber of Commerce
    Telangana Chamber of Commerce and Industry

    The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) has signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) during the first leg of its 2017 India Mission. The Mission that commenced on January 4 in Mumbai has completed its first leg of the journey to seven cities. In the first leg, the Mission visited Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and had reached Bengaluru to participate in the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. By the time our members and stakeholders will get this update, the mission’s delegates will be preparing to arrive in Gujarat to participate in the Vibrant Gujarat summit, where ICCC is a partner 
     
    Mumbai, Maharashtra

     
     From L to R: Pappur Shankar, Vice President – Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce, Vijay Kalantri, President, AIAI,
    Her Worship Bonnie Crombie Mayor, City of Mississauga, Canada,  
    Jordan Reeves, Consulate General of Canada in Mumbai,
    Y. R. Warerkar, Executive Director, World Trade Centre, Mumbai

    The Mission commenced in Mumbai and the key engagement there was a business reception hosted by the All India Association of Industries (AIAI). Her Worship Bonnie Crombie, the Mayor of Mississauga, made a presentation ‘Business is a Human Race’ at the reception, highlighting the possible areas of cooperation between Mississauga and Indian cities. Mr. Jordon Reeves, Consul General, Consulate General of Canada in Mumbai, who was present on the occasion to facilitate the event, praised the impeccable timing of the visit of the Canadian business delegation to India.

    In his welcome address Vijay Kalantri, President of All India Association of Industries and the Vice Chairman, World Trade Centre Mumbai said, “The current bilateral trade between India and Canada stands at $6 billion which can double in the next 3-5 years, if concerted efforts are made towards this direction. There are tremendous opportunities in the areas of tourism, culture, filming (Bollywood) oil & gas, petroleum, agriculture and food processing, healthcare, clean technology,   etc.” 

     
    Kolkata, West Bengal

     Pappur Shankar, VP, ICCC addressing the interactive session at the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industries

    In Kolkata, the ICCC delegation had interactive sessions with the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I) and the Bharat Chamber of Commerce (BCC) and signed MoUs with both the Chambers for a preliminary exploration of the areas of co-operation.

    “We met various officers from the state and discussed how Canada can help them to establish green cities,” said Jay Banerjei, chair-trade committee of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce.

    During the session with the BCC&I, its President Sutanu Ghosh emphasised the potential for business collaboration between Canada and West Bengal. He said, “We will head towards the North American continent once President Donald Trump and his team settle down.” The Begnali business delegation would visit Canada, besides Mexico and the US, to bring investments to the state.

    At the Bharat Chamber of Commerce event, where the Debashis Sen, Additional Chief Secretary of West Bengal, who is also the chairperson of the West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (WBHIDCO), was the keynote speaker, said, “We are open to international technology including Canadian, for smart and green city mission taken up by the State government.” Sen said Bengal is working towards inking a pact with the Canadian establishments and also held dialogues with Canadian High Commission in this regard.

    The ICCC delegation was provided with a police escort during their visit to Kolkatta. Pappur Shankar, Vice President, ICCC, said, “The ICCC sees potential in West Bengal on smart cities, waste management, and mining and education sectors.”  The delegation also met mayors of two West Bengal cities, including Bidhannagar’s mayor Sabyasachi Dutta. 

     
    Hyderabad, Telangana
     
     Office bearers of ICCC and TCCI signing the MoU

    The next stop in the India Mission 2017 itinerary was Hyderabad, the capital of the newly-created Telangana state.  Here, the ICCC signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the newly-formed Telangana Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The signatories were M. Venkateshwarlu, President, TCCI, and Devika Penekelapati, Vice President, ICCC.  

    During the interactive session between the two chambers of commerce, the speakers identified the key sectors of high growth between the Telangana and Canada. These include information and communications technology, health, nanotechnology, renewable energy, cybersecurity, intelligent transport and disaster management.

     


  • 15 Dec 2016 9:00 AM | Anonymous
    ICCC Newsletter  
    December 2016  


    Letter from the President: Preparing for India Mission 2017
     

    Arun Srivastava
     

    A good day to all of you.

    It’s time for holidays and year-end festivities, and a time to welcome the New Year. It’s a time when most of us take a break.

    But at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce we are busy preparing for our annual India Mission.

    The India Mission will commence from January 2, will be visiting seven Indian cities, participating in the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and the Vibrant Gujarat convention before returning to Toronto on January 14.

    The Mission will focus on the sunrise sectors of Canada-India economic ties such as agriculture and food processing, skills development, clean technology, smart cities and health care.

    I am delighted to announce that the Mayor of Mississauga Bonnie Crombie will be joining ICCC’s India Mission 2017.

    Mayor Crombie, a keen India-watcher, has consistently promoted stronger bilateral ties with India, and is keen to explore fresh avenues of collaboration.

    Our delegation will include entrepreneurs from Canada, and our effort will be to assist them forge mutually beneficial links with entrepreneurs in India.

    For this purpose, we will be organizing B2B meetings in all the seven cities we will be visiting.

    The cities on the India Mission 2017 itinerary are Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and New Delhi.


     Click here to read the: Letter from President

     EDC Trade Insights BDC Business Desk 

     
    Click here for more: Trade Insights Click here for more: Business Desk 

    Insight: Demonetisation Demythified
     

    Bibek Debroy
     

    WE NEED TO dispose of some preliminaries first. ‘Demonetisation’ means that some kind of currency unit loses its status as legal tender. This is different from a currency being withdrawn from circulation. A currency unit may be withdrawn from circulation, but can continue to remain legal tender. In America, Section 102 of the US Coinage Act of 1965 is a guarantee against any future demonetisation. ‘All coins and currencies of the United States (including Federal Reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal Reserve banks and national banking associations), regardless of when coined or issued, shall be legal tender for all debts, public and private, public charges, taxes, duties, and dues.’ It is important to make this point, since there are misinformed reports that the US ‘demonetised’ high-denomination notes in 1969. What was done was withdrawal from circulation, not demonetisation. The European Central Bank’s (ECB’s) decision on the €500 note is no different.

    Bibek Debroy is an economist and member of the NITI Aayog.

    This piece was originally published in Open Magazine (India) 

    Click here for more: Insight

    Business Snippets   Programs & Events   Global Tenders

           
    A brief summary of the most
    significant economic news
    during the last month.




      A quick recap of the recent
    ICCC's programs and events. 
    This month's
    recap is about the
    our programs
    in fall 2016

      A list of latest
    Global Tenders
    floated by the
    Government of India.




    Click here for more: 
    Business Snippets
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    ICCC's India Mission 2017

    January 2 to January 14, 2017 
    • Seven cities, multisector mission from January 2 to January 14
    • Collaboration with Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, Consulate General of India in Toronto, City of Mississauga 
    • For the first time, West Bengal included in the itinerary
    • Participation in the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Bengaluru
    • ICCC to be Partner Organization at Vibrant Gujarat 2017

    Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) invites you to participate in its India Mission 2017 from January 2-14, 2017. The business mission will visit Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Ahmadabad, Gandhinagar and New Delhi. The mission will participate in Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2017 convention and Vibrant Gujarat 2017 (ICCC is a partner organisation).

    Our Chamber will be arranging briefing sessions with the Canadian Trade Commissioners Service, meetings with Indian federal and state government officials, business leaders, and decision-makers, and interactive sessions with chambers of commerce, and industry associations. 

    Our past missions have also seen participation by senior federal leaders, provincial leaders and leaders working at the grass roots levels. The mission agenda comprises business to business meetings, roundtable discussions, business receptions and seminars in all these cities. As you might aware of ICCC’s previous India Missions, chamber promoted Canadian small businesses in the emerging Indian market.

    In an attempt to make the forthcoming Mission more sharply defined, and make your valuable time in India more meaningful, the ICCC is focusing only on sectors that are of significance to both the Canadian and the Indian economies, and to bilateral trade such as Agriculture & Food Processing, Skill Development, Clean Technology, Smart Cities and Health Sector. 

    Click here for complete delegation package: India Mission 2017

    Click here for registration form: IM2017-Registration


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    ICCC's 2016-17 Partners in Success 


    Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce
    924 The East Mall Toronto ON M9B 6K1
    Tel: 416-224-0090416-224-0090 . 

    Fax: 416-916-0086. 
    E-mail: iccc@iccconline.org 

    Website: www.iccconline.org


  • 30 Nov 2016 6:30 PM | Anonymous
    Google Seminar on Small Business Innovation
     
     
                                      Google Cloud & Rogers representatives with the ICCC team

    Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organized a seminar on Small Business Innovation for SMEs. Business leaders from Rogers and Google shared ideas on expanding the online presence of small businesses and take advantage of cloud-based productivity tools.

    Jaxon King, Google Canada’s Manager for Partnerships in Google Cloud briefed the participants on the bouquet of services offered by the IT behemoth. His presentation provided detailed information about Google Search and Display, Google Ads and the newly-renamed Google Apps for Work productivity suit.

    King explained the multifarious advantages of these Google products to the small business owners. The flexibility and versatility of Google’s Cloud software could be instrumental in potentially exponential expansion of small businesses, he averred.

    King, who has previously developed the market for Blackberry and Infosys, and holds an MBA from IESE Business School/Yale School of Management, engaged the enthusiastic participants with relevant factoids, and illustrative examples of the usefulness of the three business applications from Google Cloud.

    Many small entrepreneurs experience the need to constantly innovate in their enterprise especially their online presence, and many of them have virtually no idea of how to do so.

    This is because technological innovations in the small business sphere have a tendency to gallop at a rapid pace, making it impossible for entrepreneurs to keep pace with them. Jaxon King’s seminar on small business innovation helped all the participants understand the basics of expanding their online presence by acquiring the basic skills to take advantage of the innumerable productivity tools that are available on Google Cloud.

    The ICCC has always been in the forefront of organizing events such as this one with the sole purpose of imparting practical knowledge to small entrepreneurs. The Chamber’s small and medium enterprises committee has over the last decade endeavoured to create a platform for small businesses to learn new methods to grow their business and to share their experiences. Google Cloud is being offered by Rogers in the Greater Toronto Area. A Rogers representative was also present at the program to answer questions. 

    ICCC President Arun Srivastava, VP Pappur Shankar, and Director Sanjay Brahmbhatt spoke at the program.


  • 25 Nov 2016 6:30 PM | Anonymous
    Vegas Evening 
     
     
     ICCC group at the Winter Gala 2016

    Vegas Evening at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton was a showstopper of entertainment programs at the annual Winter Gala of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce. The audiences had never experienced anything quite like this ever before, and by the time the evening drew to a close, it was evident that they wouldn’t see anything quite like this in a long time.

    The evening began with the stunning flamenco showgirls welcoming the guests into the venue, and an illusionist was strolling down the corridor weaving magic in his wake. Suitably dazzled by the welcoming showgirls, the guests then proceeded into the glittering space for the razzmatazz to begin, and it began with a song and dance routine straight from the chorus line of the sin city and music from the city’s radio city music hall. The seven dancers and the aerialist enhanced the mood with their moves.

    Even as the music was gradually reaching a crescendo, the rich and varied Indian cuisine was gracefully rolled out, with baigan ka bhartha prepared in desi ghee occupying centre-stage. It was only in the desi dinner menu that the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce bowed to the Indian taste buds, but even there, the menu was a lovely mix of fine dining cuisine combined with the zesty mixture of wok style street food.

    Even as the guests began to satiate themselves to the delicacies they are forewarned that they should leave some room for the magnificent chocolate fountain that has been set up as a finale for the grand evening. The entertainment, the décor, the menu were all geared to meet just one grand design – to give the guests at the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s annual Winter Gala 2016 an unforgettable and an unparalleled experience.

    Honourable Members of Parliament Ruby Sahota and Gagan Sikand mingled with the guests as did Members of the Provincial Parliament Minister Deepika Damerla, Amrit Mangat, Bob Delaney, Harinder Malhi and Patrick Brown. Her Worship the Mayor of Mississauga Bonnie Crombie lent her support to the program. People liked the show and appreciated the ICCC for its incredible work under the new leadership. 

     

       
       Arun Srivastava, Harinder Malhi, Dipika Damerla, 
    Bob Delaney & Amrit Mangat
     Bonnie Crombie
       
    Patrick Brown & Arun Srivastava
    Jim Karygiannis & Arun Srivastava
       

    Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Winter Gala, popularly known as Holiday Dinner & Dance is one of the Chamber’s marquee events, and also one of the most popular Indo-Canadian community event in the Greater Toronto Area. The event is attended by large number of guests including members, sponsors, stakeholders, friends of the community, professionals, entrepreneurs, senior representative of corporations, government officials, political leaders, and opinion makers. The program comprises a blend of theme-based entertainment, spectacular songs and dance sequences and sumptuous culinary delights.

    Vegas Evening was the theme for 2016 Winter Gala. This year, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce took its guests to Las Vegas to soak them in the many splendours of the city that doesn’t sleep. It was an evening about fun, frolic and a lot of masti.

    As Arun Srivastava, President of ICCC said, “Everyone must have noticed the décor of the venue – it’s straight out of Vegas – the red carpet, the flamenco dancers, the backdrop, the magic tricks. Everything here is bound to evoke an unmistakable feeling that you’re in Las Vegas. But for the absence of the roulette wheel, the pool table and the slot machines, everything is indeed as it would be in Las Vegas. We have brought for you everything from the Sin City except the Sin.”

     
     ICCC group 


  • 15 Nov 2016 6:08 AM | Anonymous
    ICCC Newsletter  
    November 2016  


    Letter from the President
     
    • Strengthening Canada-India ties
    • Reconstituting ICCC's committees
    • India Mission 2017
     

    Canada-India ties continue to be the main focus of both the governments in Ottawa and in New Delhi. The ministerial meeting between Christa Freedland and Nirmala Subramanian has given a much-needed boost to the bilateral talks on CEPA, and we can hope for a more rapid progress from now. Of course, the final agreement will require political will on both sides, but the ministerial talks have certainly broken the deadlock.

    At our Chamber, we have consistently fostered better trade and commercial ties between Canada and India, and recently we hosted Julia G. Bentley, the Acting Director General of South Asia in Canada’s Ministry of Global Affairs. Ms. Bentley is an Indophile, with a deep and abiding interest in India. During our interaction, where a majority of our directors were present, I informed her of our Chamber’s grassroots reach among the small businesses in Canada and in India, and how this could be leveraged in advocacy matters as well as for continuous outreach and dialog.



     Click here to see the video: President's message
     
     Click here to read the: Letter from President

     EDC Trade Insights BDC Business Desk 

     
    Click here for more: Trade Insights Click here for more: Business Desk 

    Insight

    John McCallum & Navdeep Bains in India
     
       
     John McCallum in Amritsar  Navdeep Bains with Ravi Shankar Prasad

    The Canadian government has forecast its intake of newcomers to the country in 2017 will remain at the levels seen this year, but prospective migrants from countries such as India may have reason for cheer as targets for categories under which they are admitted have been raised. Canada’s minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship John McCallum announced the 2017 immigration plan, the first of the Justin Trudeau government, after nationwide consultations. The government expects to welcome 300,000 new immigrants into Canada next year, the same figure as 2016.

    Indo-Canadian two-way trade is on an upswing, recording an impressive 30% year-on-year growth last year. Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Navdeep Bains now wants to build on that momentum, leveraging India’s and Bengaluru’s ‘vibrant’ strides in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

    In Bengaluru as part of an India tour, Bains was clearly focused on the startup ecosystem and the thriving culture of entrepreneurship here. “Innovation is key to economic growth. We are looking at business-to-business partnerships. As part of our Global Strategy programme, we are also looking at the right talent with the right skills,” he told the media.

    Click here for more: Insight

    Business Snippets   Programs & Events   Global Tenders

           
    A brief summary of the most
    significant economic news
    during the last month.




      A quick recap of the recent
    ICCC's programs and events. 
    This month's
    recap is about the
    our programs
    in fall 2016

      A list of latest
    Global Tenders
    floated by the
    Government of India.




    Click here for more: 
    Business Snippets
      Click here for more: 
    Programs and Events
      Click here for more: 
    Global Tenders

    ICCC's Winter Gala 2016

    Friday, November 25, 2016 
     
    Vegas Evening 
     
     
     
     

    Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Winter Gala, popularly known as Holiday Dinner & Dance is one of the Chamber’s marquee events, and also one of the most popular Indo-Canadian community event in the Greater Toronto Area. The event is attended by large number of guests including members, sponsors, stakeholders, friends of the community, professionals, entrepreneurs, senior representative of corporations, government officials, political leaders, and opinion makers. The program comprises a blend of theme-based entertainment, spectacular songs and dance sequences and sumptuous culinary delights. 

    Vegas Evening is the theme for 2016 Winter Gala. This year, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce will take you to Las Vegas and soak you in the many splendours of the city that doesn’t sleep. Come and join the fun filled evening. 

    The coordinates of the program
       
    Time: 6:00 pm onwards
    Date: Friday, November 25, 2016
    Venue: Pearson Convention Centre
    Address:  2638 Steeles Avenue East Brampton
    ON L6T 4L7
    XXXXXXXXXXXXTicket and table reservations, click here :   Winter Gala 2016 


    ICCC app
    Download ICCC phone app and stay connected on the go! 
     

     
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    • Membership
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    • Disclaimer
      To read more, click here: About Newsletter


     A big Thank you to all our Sponsors: Click here to meet our 2016-2017 Sponsors: 
    ICCC's 2016-17 Partners in Success 


  • 10 Nov 2016 6:30 PM | Anonymous
    Globalization and Trade
     
     EDC's Peter Hall lauds India's growth story 
     
    & advises caution on dismantling global trade architecture 
      
     
     EDC's Peter Hall delivering his annual lecture to the members and stakeholders of ICCC
     

    India’s phenomenal growth and the possibility of the dismantling of global trade architecture were the twin themes discussed at the annual lecture that Peter Hall, Vice President and Chief Economist of Export Development Canada, gave to the members and stakeholders of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) last week.

    The lecture was held a couple of days after the US Presidential election and the surprising victory of Donald Trump. Peter Hall emphasized that while Trump has won on a seemingly anti-trade vote, it may be difficult and harmful to dismantle the global trade architecture that has evolved during the last three decades.

    He said he wasn’t sure why the Americans are so angry. American economy is at a stage right now where it is going to expand exponentially. In that sense, Trump is lucky. The US economy has created 200,000 jobs each month for the last 73 months, and the unemployment rate is at 5%. This is actually an indication of good time as there is a rise in the real wages. Additionally, gasoline prices are lower, and after seven years the millennials are being brought in to the economy and they’re the people who will power up the economy.

    Hall said we should all be worried with the anti-trade sentiment that is being expressed in America and Europe. If what is being threatened – such as 35% tariff on goods from Mexico and 45% tariff on goods from China – prices will skyrocket and when prices go up at Walmart, Americans will wilt.

    Not only is it not easy to dismantle the global trade architecture that has evolved over the last three decades, but doing so will be disastrous. European economy is on the same path as the American economy was;it’s just that the European economy is reviving a bit late. The US and the European economies depend upon the global trade architecture. Hall added that it must be noted that there is a silent majority that has felt that it was left behind.

    Turning to India, Hall said the EDC has been actively participating in the India growth story. India is a busy market for us. India is a fascinating economy with tremendous potential and is playing a superior role in the global economy. It offers returns at a much faster pace and with minimum risks. This is not the case with the global economy where the risks are quite high. The ascension of India over the last 20 years has been remarkable. Communication technology is enabling India to link with the global economy and is able to simply bridge the gap

    Hall predicted that India will be able to maintain the rate of growth for a long time. At present its growth rate is faster than China, and it won’t slow down. It is the seventh largest economy at present – and this has to be seen in the context of a world that is seemingly at a standstill. India is developing like no other economy. The massive investments in infrastructure are transforming the Indian economy. The agri-food sector has been revolutionized because of the innovations in cold storage facilities, better logistics and transportation fleet, super highways.

    Another emerging trend that will benefit India immensely is the demographic dividend which is going to give a further impetus to the economic growth. China has run out of people, and its wage bill is going up. There’s a huge inflow from China into India’s manufacturing sector. There are clear signs that India will become the China of the world economy. India is adding 20 million people to the middle class every month. China is adding 34 million (one Canada) to the middle class every month

    This growth will fundamentally change consumption patterns. Food consumption in India is an opportunity for Canada because India is a net food importer. The financial community in Canada has already understood the opportunities in India and has already begun investing in the Indian economy –the Brook fields, the pension plans – they’re all going to India. 

     
       
     ICCC team with Peter Hall  Members of the audience


  • 27 Oct 2016 6:30 PM | Anonymous


    ICCC Team with Roshan D'Souza of BDC

    Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce recently organized a presentation for its small business owner members by Roshan D’Souza of the Business Development Canada (BDC) at its headquarters in Toronto. The presentation was on the topic of ‘Building value in your business – how to move the operational and growth levers’. D’Souza delineated the process of enhancing productivity as well as strongly advocated the need to have a strong online presence.

    Explaining the profit equation – adjusting the levers, he said the simple formula of Revenue – costs = profit should be factored to the productivity challenge. He emphasized that Canadian productivity is lower than that of many developed countries – it’s in the median range when compared to over 30 developed economies. Canadian businesses face a growing productivity gap – relative productivity levels, Canada and the United States (Canada GDP per hour as a percentage of US GDP per hour). It was – 5% in 1984, -15% in 1997 and -27% in 2015

    Manufacturing constraints cause difficulty for Canadian SMEs to adapt and perform. Higher variety – lower volume = high pressure on manufacturing costs – high expectations for quality, but with short delays.

    D’Souza said that disruptive innovations are emerging rapidly and that foreign countries are more proactive in deploying advanced manufacturing technologies…”In response to rising labour costs combined with a shortage of workers, China has begun to provide incentives to encourage businesses to utilize robots to replace factory workers.”


    Roshan D'Souza making a point

    Following this broad introduction to his topic of discussion, he then warmed up to the main theme:

    Moving towards a culture of continuous improvement – A Strategic Imperative. D’Souza discussed how can operational efficiency help Canadian businesses? Businesses can Reduce waste, create more value for their clients, improve agility by adopting a simple, adaptable and repeatable strategy. The three critical factors of operational efficiency – benchmark performance, identity and eliminate waste, monitor and manage performance.

    After implementing a culture of continuous improvement, the next stage is to benchmark performance. Do you know how you compare with the best in your industry? Only 6% of Canadian SMEs formally measure their performance across their business and compare their results. He introduced the concept of Value Creation Index as a means to measure productivity.

    What is the Value Creation Index (VCI)? VCI = Added value in $ for each hour of labour. It is a productivity index linked to financial performance and it also focuses on variable costs (raw material and labour) and sales. The benefits it offers an entrepreneur will be to understand the productivity index, compare performance against industry average for the appropriate NAICS code, and build legacy by using VCI to compare performance over time. Calculating the VCI is a simple formula: Sales – (Raw Material + Subcontracting) divided by hours of labour = VCI.

    Example

    i. $4M - $1M = 3M in added value

    ii. $3M divided by 46,154 hours

    VCI = $65 av per hour of labour

    Then, D’Souza gave VCI examples:

    Dairy product (except frozen manufacturing) $100

    Aerospace products and parts manufacturing $132

    Machine shops $59

    Wood kitchen cabinet and counter top manufacturing $42

    At this stage – stage 3, it becomes important for the entrepreneur to identify and eliminate waste. D’Souza distinguished between Value-Add vs. waste. He explained that added value activity  is the operation for which the client is willing to pay for, whereas waste – any activity that adds cost ($$$) without creating value for the client. An entrepreneur should maintain added value activities but eliminate or minimize the waste. Common forms of waste are overproduction, waiting, transport, inefficient operations, inventory, motion, non-quality, poor design.


    Participants at the program

    Having reached the final stage by now, it is imperative for the business to monitor and manage performance. The performance dashboard provides

    i. measurement and communication of performance indicators

    - The objectives

    - The results

    - The opportunities

    ii. Identify, plan and communicate

    • Action plan by project to address major issues
    • Improvement ideas to eliminate non-value added activities

    Finally, D’Souza emphasized that after all the stages of implementing Building value in your business, the key takeaways would be:

    • Given the global context the urgency for Canadian businesses is to act now
    • Benchmarking is critical, established aggressive productivity objectives and work on a daily basis to achieve and surpass
    • Obtaining incremental improvements is a better option than continuing with the status quo
    • Focus on the 3 critical factors of operational efficiency
    • Technology and innovation are great allies and should always be taken into consideration

    Then, focusing on the increasing online presence of the consumers, D’Souza said, Canadians are online – 82% use the internet, 56% shop online,  80% research online before buying. This is true globally, too, where increasingly, consumers are moving online. The world of sales has changed – no longer a sales process; it’s now a buying process.

    However, in Canada, only 17% of SMEs are selling online. It is a huge opportunity for SMEs today. Then D’Souza explained the process in the following manner:

    Start with Why – define your purpose – align your story behind a core purpose (save the environment / new frontier / break convention)

    Brand influence more than good looks – your brand is beauty and brains

    Elevator pitch – draft a powerful opening story – what do I do or specialize in? Who am I? How do my clients feel that they benefit from my offering? Who are my clients?

    He gave a personal example of the elevator pitch: I’m Roshan D’Souza, Senior Partner at the BDC. I’m a business diagnostician who helps Canadian entrepreneurs grow and optimize their businesses. Business owners work with me because I have a proven track record of helping companies increase revenue and reduce costs adopting BDC’s advisory methodology.

    In the final part of the presentation, D’Souza reverted to the tried and tested adage of the customer being king.

    • Understand your customers
    • Demographic information: Age, gender, education level, income level, occupation, family size, household income, geographic area
    • Digital footprint: Social media engagement, online purchasing, time spent online for personal use, preferred platforms, mobile engagement
    • Pain points: needs, challenges, frustrations
    • Map your customer’s journey – awareness, active search, evaluation, purchase, delivery and usage, re-purchase, loyalty, advocacy



    This process also involved

    1. What’s your why?

    2. Document your story (brand manual)

    3. Understand your customers (research)

    4. Map your customer journey (strategy)

    5. Tell your story and measure the return

    Following the presentation, D’Souza then introduced the different ways in which the BDC can help small entrepreneurs benchmark productivity through its Canadian business productivity benchmarking tool

    He said, BDC is the only bank devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs. It offers flexible financing to support growth and protect cash flow, advisory services on an enterprise-wide range of subjects, biggest and most active venture capital investor in Canada, It has 42,000 clients, 2,100 employees, 110+ business centres, $26b in financing committed to clients 72 years of existence 94% of clients are satisfied with its services,

    BDC’s goals – provide top-notch advice to help you

    1 increase your sales

    2 find new markets

    3 improve your operations

    4 optimize your technology

    5 build your management capacity

  • 19 Oct 2016 11:38 AM | Anonymous
    ICCC & Consulate General of India will work together to  
     
    Promote Investments in India 
     
    Board of Directors Meet Consul General Dinesh Bhatia 

     
     ICCC board members with Consul General Dinesh Bhatia
    The Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce and the Consulate General of India in Toronto will be collaborating more intensively to promote the key schemes of the Government of India to Canadian entrepreneurs.

    Dinesh Bhatia, Consul General of India in Toronto, and Arun Srivastava, President, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), announced the collaborative effort at a meeting of the Chamber’s new board of directors with the Consul General held at the Toronto Consulate Wednesday.

    The directors who met the Consul General included Arun Srivastava, President; Abubakkar Noohujohn, Vice President, Membership & Business Development; Pappur Shankar, Vice President, Finance & SME; Devika Penekelapati, Vice President, Programs and Events, and Sponsorship; Sanjay Brahmbhatt, Directror, SME; Nareshkumar Chavda, Director, Government Relations, and Membership and Events.

    According to the proposed collaboration, the Chamber and the Consulate will work together to promote three of Government of India’s schemes – Make in India, Skills India and Startup India – in Canada. Both the Chamber and the Consulate will organize a series of seminars across the Greater Toronto Area and southern Ontario (especially the Toronto-Windsor technology corridor) to promote these initiatives. Significantly, both the institutions will be equal partners in these programs.

    The seminars will provide a platform to experts in each of these initiatives, who have firsthand experience of investing and operating in India, to address audiences comprising Canadian companies seeking avenues in India, to help investors understand the ground realities of the Indian economy.

    “The focus of the program will not merely be to hard-sell these initiatives, but also to help investors assess the new Indian business environment that is focused on deliverables and growth,” Arun Srivastava said following the meeting.

    India’s reputation as an investor-friendly destination for foreign direct investment has risen sharply over the last two years thanks to the efforts of the new Narendra Modi-led government. It is at present one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and among the G20 and the BRICS group of economies. In addition, the Government of India has been pushing innovation and has created a positive environment for startups to flourish. At present, India is the third economy after the United States and Germany in terms of the number of startups.

    The series of seminars will commence in late 2016 and continue well into 2017. 



  • 14 Oct 2016 7:12 AM | Anonymous
    ICCC Newsletter  
    October 2016  


    Letter from the President
     
    Let's continue to strengthen the Chamber

    Good day to all the members and stakeholders of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce. As you’d know, I was elected the 28th President of the Chamber in September. I am honoured and humbled to have been elected to lead this people’s chamber. For my first Letter as the President to all of you, I thought in addition to writing a letter, why not speak to you directly; and hence this video recording.


     
     Click here to read the: Letter from President

     EDC Trade Insights BDC Business Desk 

     
    Click here for more: Trade Insights Click here for more: Business Desk 

    Talking Trade

    Freedland and Sitharaman pave new path 
     
       
     Arun with Freedland  Arun with Sitharaman

    India’s Minister for Commerce and Industry Honourable Nirmala Sitharaman met with Canada Minister for International Trade Honourable Christiya Freedland met in Toronto on September 29 at the Third Annual India-Canada Annual Ministerial Dialogue.

    Arun Srivastava, the newly-elected President of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), participated in the luncheon held at MaRS in downtown Toronto. It covered outstanding trade and investment related issues and among other things, focussed on expanding bilateral trade, having more B 2 B interface with constitution of CEO Forum by Canada and regular interaction between the CEOs on both sides and also expediting the free trade and investment negotiations which are underway.

    This was the first high level meet led by a Ministerial level delegation from India after the new Government came to power in Canada. The Trade Minister of Canada Honourable Freedland emphasied the importance of the bilateral relationship and expressed happiness at the back to back visit by the Indian Commerce and Industry Minister and the proposed visit of the Finance Minister Honourable Arun Jaitely in the first week of October.

    Click here for more: Talking Trade
    Insight: 
     
    Arun Jaitley's Canada visit

    Ministers Morneau and Jaitley
     
    The Finance Minister of India, Hon'ble Arun Jaitley, paid an official visit to Canada from 2-4 October, 2016. Members of his delegation included Secretary (Economic Affairs) Mr. Shaktikanta Das and High Commissioner of India, Vishnu Prakash. FM held wide ranging consultations with Canadian political and business leaders, financial institutions and academia. On 2nd October, he spoke about India's economic reforms at the Rotman School of Management of University of Toronto which was attended by over 400 Post Graduate students, faculty members, business representatives and members of Indo-Canadian community. On 3rd October, he met with his counterpart, Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Both Ministers reviewed bilateral, commercial and economic ties, steps to speed up investments in both directions and early conclusion of Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) or FIPA. They exchanged views on the global economic situation and agreed to keep in regular contact. FM invited Mr. Morneau to visit India. The invitation was accepted with great pleasure.


    Click here for more: Insight


    Business Snippets   Programs & Events   Global Tenders

           
    A brief summary of the most
    significant economic news
    during the last month.




      A quick recap of the recent
    ICCC's programs and events. 
    This month's
    recap is about the
    our programs
    in early fall 2016

      A list of latest
    Global Tenders
    floated by the
    Government of India.




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    Business Snippets
      Click here for more: 
    Programs and Events
      Click here for more: 
    Global Tenders

    ICCC's Winter Gala 2016

    Friday, November 25, 2016 
     
    Vegas Evening 
     
     
     
     

    Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Winter Gala, popularly known as Holiday Dinner & Dance is one of the Chamber’s marquee events, and also one of the most popular Indo-Canadian community event in the Greater Toronto Area. The event is attended by large number of guests including members, sponsors, stakeholders, friends of the community, professionals, entrepreneurs, senior representative of corporations, government officials, political leaders, and opinion makers. The program comprises a blend of theme-based entertainment, spectacular songs and dance sequences and sumptuous culinary delights. 

    Vegas Evening is the theme for 2016 Winter Gala. This year, the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce will take you to Las Vegas and soak you in the many splendours of the city that doesn’t sleep. Come and join the fun filled evening. 

    The coordinates of the program
       
    Time: 6:00 pm onwards
    Date: Friday, November 25, 2016
    Venue: Pearson Convention Centre
    Address:  2638 Steeles Avenue East Brampton
    ON L6T 4L7
    XXXXXXXXXXXXTicket and table reservations, click here :   Winter Gala 2016 


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      To read more, click here: About Newsletter


     A big Thank you to all our Sponsors: Click here to meet our 2016-2017 Sponsors: 
    ICCC's 2016-17 Partners in Success 


  • 03 Oct 2016 6:30 PM | Anonymous

     Building a future together

     

    ICCC networks with FICCI's infrastructure delegation 

     

     

     ICCC and FICCI teams at the networking reception

    The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) led its second annual delegation in the infrastructure sector to North America, and the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organized a networking reception to facilitate a free-flowing exchange of ideas between the visiting delegation and Indo-Canadian entrepreneurs and professionals.

    The ICCC and FICCI are partners in success, having signed a MoU over a decade ago pledging to support and facilitate mutual interests in each other’s jurisdiction. The ICCC had hosted FICCI’s first infrastructure delegation last year, and has worked with FICCI for its New Delhi program during the annual India Missions.

    The focus of the FICCI delegation is to connect with Canadian organizations and financial institutions operating in the infrastructure space, who are interested to work with India and also invest in the infrastructure development in India. The programme focused on infrastructure sectors including Road and Highways, Railways, Ports and Shipping, Airport, Infrastructure Financing, and other allied spheres.

     

     Arun Srivastava

    Manab Majumdar 

    The delegation comprising over 20 senior executives from top Indian infrastructure entities both in the government and private sectors, confabulated with ICCC members and stakeholders at the networking reception. Among the Indian entities that were represented in the delegation included SBI Capital Markets, IL & FS Transportation Networks, Seven Islands Shipping, Alar Group, Guizetti & Associates, SPSM Infrastructure Projects, Blue Light Star Marine Services, representatives of the Government of Nagaland and FICCI officers. Mr. R K Perindia represented the Consulate General of India in Toronto.

    Ms. Devika Penekelapati launched the networking reception and introduced the evening to the audience. She then invited Arun Srivastava, the newly-elected President of the Chamber to give welcome remarks.

    In his remarks, Mr. Srivastava introduced the ICCC to the visitors and said that the Chamber has promoted bilateral trade for the last four decades. “We have seen Canada-India economic relations rise from nothing to reach where they are today – over 8.3 billion dollars in merchandize trade. If we factor services in this, the figure would increase by over 4 billion dollars. Pertinently, trade between the two countries is growing at double digit rates for the last three years, and it grew by 29 percent in the last year.”

    He said creating a bridge between Canadian and Indian innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems is one of the latest areas of growth in the bilateral relationship. The key sectors of high growth include information and communications technology, health, nanotechnology, renewable energy, cyber-security, intelligent transport and disaster management.

    “Infrastructure is a key sector for bilateral trade and investment between the two countries. In this sector the recent developments in India have been exciting,” he said, and added, “The massive Smart Cities project of the Indian Prime Minister Hon. Narendra Modi is opening new doors for Canadian companies. Even city administrations in Canada, who have extensive experience in creating smart cities, are keen to collaborate with Indian entities.”

    Mr. Manab Majumdar, Assistant Secretary General, FICCI, thanked the ICCC for hosting the event and said that they are working to engage the Canadian companies for investment in Infrastructure sector as it is emerging as one of the major area. Indian companies are looking for collaboration in road building, mining and ship building industries. As Canada is leader in technical expertise and has already developed a number of technologies related to these sectors. Indian Companies are ready to have joint venture, ready to get technical support or joint projects with collaboration with the Canadian companies.

    Mr. R K Perindia also said that the government is helping the businesses on both sides to collaborate with each other and easing the visa process to benefit business people.


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