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What is the meaning of success? Does it mean the same thing to everyone? Does gender influence the interpretation of success? A lot of research has gone into the subject of success. What makes a person successful? How do we recognize success? To some, success may signify wealth; to others it is recognition. It could well be family for another set of people. In most cases it is a combination of many factors and attributes. Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organized the third annual International Women’s Day panel discussion on Saturday March 8, 2014, at the Pearson Convention Centre, to discuss what success means to women. The theme of the panel discussion was On Success: A Woman’s Perspective.

Hon. Amrit Mangat, MPP and Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Children and Youth Services, Ontario, was the keynote speaker at the event and also read the special greetings from the Premier of Ontario. The panelists and the audience included highly successful women entrepreneurs, professionals, and public figures. The panelists were: Dr. Usha George, Professor & Dean, Ryerson University; Asha Luthra, Director, Balmoral Marketing, & Former President, ICCC; Raj Girn, President & CEO, Anokhi Media; Sunita Malik, Crown Attorney; Sarab Hans, Managing Director, Hans Dairy. Rajni Tekriwal, Corporate Secretary and Director, Women Entrepreneurs & Professionals (WEP) committee, moderated the discussion.

Dr. Usha George during her presentation spoke about the need for women to work hard to attain their goals. However, she said, success often came not merely from working hard, but from working smart. She extoled the virtues of working smart, saying often it was the distinguishing features between the successful and the also-rans. Former President of Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, Asha Luthra, who was the first woman President in the three-and-a-half decade history of the Chamber, said to her the single biggest contributor to success is the ability to say “No.” She said women who could say “no” tended to take care of themselves better because they were able to better manage expectations. She also said that single women often found it daunting to meet their responsibilities and also to succeed, but she said all they needed more was a good dose of determination.

Raj Girn shared her experiences as a young person growing up in the United Kingdom and emphasized that while personality did play a crucial role in a person’s success, personal appearance never really matter as much. Giving her own example, she said that she always focussed more on what she wanted to achieve rather than what others thought of her. Sunita Malik said women need to focus on what they want to achieve rather than living other people’s dreams – and by that she meant parents, husbands, children, in-laws. Giving her own example, she said she was expected to become a doctor or an engineer, and then a teacher, but she was determined to be a lawyer.

Sarab Hans emphasized that one of the keys to success it to ask the right person for the right help. She said people are willing to help others succeed, but often they are not aware that such help is sought. Women should develop confidence. In her introductory remarks and during the moderation of the discussion, Rajni Tekriwal said that while the definition of success was a matter of interpretation and would naturally differ from a person to person, in case of women, success had to mean being able to achieve something significant on their own.  “I define success as a manifestation of good luck that results from inspiration, aspiration, desperation and perspiration,” she said, and added, “Success and happiness go hand in hand. Success is getting what you want and happiness is wanting what you get.”

The panel discussion drew tremendous response from the Indo-Canadian community, and was attended by an overwhelming number.

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organized a business reception for the Indian mining delegation visiting the annual Prospectors and Developers Association Convention (PDAC) in Toronto earlier this week.

R. Sridharan, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Government of India, led the Indian delegation comprising over 35 representatives from the government and the private sector. Akhilesh Mishra, Consul General of India in Toronto, and Pradeep Kumar, Head of Chancery and Commercial Consul, were among the prominent guests who participated in the business reception.

In his welcome remarks, Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, emphasized the significance of the PDAC convention and the role it has played in promoting bilateral trade and investment between Canada and India in the mining sector. He also spoke about ICCC’s pivotal role in promoting the sector especially through its mining committee.

Akhilesh Mishra, Consul General of India in Toronto, in his remarks lauded the remarkable work of ICCC in promoting bilateral trade between Canada and India, and its focussed approach in keeping the mining sector on the agenda.

In his remarks, R Sirdharan, the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Mines of Government of India, spoke of the long and fruitful relations between Canada and India.  D. S. Misra, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Government of India, K. Pradeep Chandra, Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Aditya Rebapraggada, Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, a prominent law firm, spoke about the tremendous opportunities of collaboration in the sector between Canada and India. Susan Veigas, Senior Advisor at Toronto Economic Development, emphasized that Indian companies need to explore Toronto as an investment destination.

Several prominent members of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), including Satish Thakkar, immediate Past President of ICCC, and Indira Singh, Chair of ICCC’s Mining Committee, were present on the occasion.

Indo-Canada Chamber organized an economic briefing session in collaboration with RBC Royal Bank where Paul Farley, the assistant chief economist of the bank made a presentation on Global, U.S. and Canadian Economic Outlook: Growth to Strengthen as Downside Risks Ease.

Mr. Farley analysed the emerging global economic scenario and made the following observations for the near-term:

Strong business investment, rising U.S. demand, modest gains in consumer spending, and accommodative Bank of Canada policy are expected to help strengthen growth next year.  In addition, strong demand for natural Resources is a benefit for Canada though growth is still largely dependent on sustained U.S. recovery. The recovery in Canada since the recession has generally been moderately stronger than in the U.S.

He said, the Canadian economy has benefited from strong, albeit slowing, demand from emerging markets, particularly in Asia, for various natural resources. Though commodity prices have recently moved lower, they have remained, and are expected to continue to remain, historically high.

These factors are expected to be beneficial to exports and business investment, particularly in 2014, though with still high household debt both limiting consumer spending and weighing on residential investment while fiscal restraint will curtail government spending. Export growth has under-performed relative to U.S. growth though the recent depreciation of the Canadian dollar is expected to help close that gap.

Mr. Farley said, economic growth in Canada is expected to be sufficiently strong to put further downward pressure on the unemployment rate. Though the unemployment rate has moved lower, there remains sufficient slack in the economy to keep core inflation below target through the forecast.

To sustain growth, the Bank of Canada is expected to remain on the sidelines until 2015 reflecting modest growth and the absence of inflationary pressures. Bond yields to rise as financial markets anticipate eventual central bank tightening in both Canada and the U.S.

The Canadian dollar to remain historically high though on a depreciating trend reflecting the recent weakness in export growth.

On the subject of trade between Canada and India, he said, the two-way trade between India and Canada has been steadily rising though this is occurring from still very low levels. Canadian exports to India are skewed towards natural resources with aircraft being the only exception among the top six items. Canadian imports from India are more diversified. Strong business balance sheets and strengthening confidence is expected to contribute to a strengthening in business investment.

There was a large jump in investment by India in Canada in 2008 that was in part related to a large purchase of a Canadian steel operation. However, the dollar amounts were small relative to Canada’s bilateral investment with other countries.

In addition, the Assistant Chief Economist of RBC Royal Bank also said that the advanced economies are expected to take the lead in boosting growth. In particular, the recovery in the U.S. is expected to boost activity among both advanced and emerging economies. Although in this regard, he cautioned that though annual U.S. growth in 2013 at an expected 1.9% was disappointingly modest, the quarterly numbers point to a strengthening trend through the year.  Strengthening growth among advanced economies in 2014 is expected to be relatively broad based though with Japan being an exception

While discussing the emerging economies, Mr. Farley said higher U.S. bond yields are raising concerns about higher funding costs to emerging economies which is weighing on the currencies of those economies. He also said that the strengthening activity among emerging economies may be restrained by relatively steady growth in China.

Brij K. Sharma, ICCC’s Director for Trade, SME & Sponsorship, in his welcome remarks emphasized the significance of organizing such informative sessions with members and stakeholders of the Chamber. He said, “In today’s globalized environment, it has become imperative for our members to take economic decisions based on a proper understanding and analyses of key emerging trends. Mr. Paul Farley’s observations will go a long way in aiding our members take those informed decision.”

Mr. Imtiaz Seyid, Vice President, South Asian & Middle East Markets, RBC Royal Bank, and a former director of ICCC, introduced the speaker. Mr. Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, also spoke on the occasion.

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organized a roundtable with Dr. Kellie Leitch, Canada’s Minister for Labour and Minister for Status of Women on February 20 in Toronto to discuss the federal government’s economic action plan 2014 with specific reference to women.

Attended by women entrepreneurs and professional that included lawyers, social workers, CGAs, HR and IT professionals, sales and marketing professionals, importers, financial advisors and realtors, the roundtable discussed the provisions of the federal government’s economic action plan 2014 especially those pertaining to women.

Dr. Leitch enumerated the provisions of the new economic action. These include $55 million of paid internship. The Minister said successful entrepreneurs create high-paying jobs by developing new goods and services and developing innovative business models. Women are significantly under-represented as a proportion of small business owners. There were discussions on mentorship and training for women entrepreneurship and about government agencies providing financing. 

Over the coming year, the Minister of Status of Women will consult on how to increase the numbers of women entering into, and succeeding in, business. In addition, the Minister also spoke about new entrepreneur loan program, job training and job matching, economic and social development of women, a provision of $55m towards sponsorship for internship, membership and training for entrepreneurship. She also mentioned about the incubator and accelerator programs.

Ms. Rajni Tekriwal, ICCC’s Corporate Secretary and Director, welcomed the minister and introduced the participants at the roundtable. She also emphasized the need for accessibility of the information about the economic action plan among the general population. She also gave an overview of the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) and the activities of the Women Entrepreneurs and Professional committee.

Speaking on the occasion, Fred Gibbons said Timmins is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada and is an attractive investment destination. He said during the economic depression that engulfed Canada and North America, Timmins actually registered a substantial growth, which it has continued even thereafter.  The affordability of Timmins makes it a prime location for commercial and industrial development. 

Mr. Gibbons also said that the city thrives on new and existing businesses benefiting from the continuing strength of our economy.  Timmins is a resource-based economy with mining and forestry activity, but the service and tourism sectors add to the diverse economy.  The history of Timmins is associated with the gold discoveries of the Porcupine Camp, beginning in the early 1900s.  In the 1960s, base metals such as copper, zinc and nickel began to replace gold as the primary mined deposit.  Today, a variety of precious and base metals, as well as industrial minerals, are mined.

In his welcome remarks, D. P. Jain, Treasurer and Director, ICCC, said, emphasized the role that ICCC is playing in pivoting bilateral trade between Canada and India. He said ICCC also promotes the investment opportunities in Canadian cities and the program with Timmins was a part of this promotion.

Mr. Jain said the Chamber in its three-and-a-half decade has emerged as the main organization of the Indo-Canadians and both the Canadian and the Indian governments consults it on trade, fiscal and immigration policy matters.

In her presentation, Brenda Camirand enumerated the incentives available to investors for investing in the city. She said Timmins is centrally located in Northeastern Ontario, and is the regional centre for shopping, culture, commerce, health, industrial supplies and distribution channels. 

Cathy Ellis in her remarks listed the attractions of the city and said that while has a population of 45,000, the city will require 18,000 new residents in the next decade.

Andrea McCormack in her presentation said Timmins draws consumers and business-to-business trade from throughout the Cochrane District, the James Bay Coastal area and nearby communities such as Chapleau and Kirkland Lake for a total regional market of approximately 118,000.

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) held an interactive post budget session with Hon. Tim Uppal, Minister of State (Multiculturalism) at Westin hotel, Toronto on 19 February, 2014.

Naval Bajaj, President ICCC welcomed the federal budget 2014 for supporting the small businesses by cutting taxes, supporting internships and promoting the women entrepreneurs.

“The government has reduced the tax compliance burden for small and medium-sized businesses and has maintained the freeze on Employment Insurance premium rates to help provide certainty and flexibility for employers, especially small businesses,” Bajaj said.

“Reductions in the small business tax rate to 11 per cent and increases in the small business income limit to $500,000 will provide small businesses with an estimated $2.2b in tax relief in 2014,” the ICCC President said, and added that it is heartening to note that the government has continued with its various programs to support small businesses.

ICCC also appreciated the budget proposal to reallocate $15 million annually towards supporting up to 1,000 internships in small and medium-sized enterprises. Small and medium-sized enterprises are key drivers of Canada’s economic growth. While they are in need of skilled workers, they often lack the capacity that many large companies have to recruit new employees. ICCC also lauded the efforts of the government for providing $150,000 to increase mentorship among women entrepreneurs.

Minister Uppal said that the Canadian industry has the potential to generate more jobs but the required skilled work force is not available in the market. The government of Canada is trying hard to bridge the gap between Industry and training institutions for development and handling of new technology.

"Government’s sustained approach to responsible fiscal management responds directly to the priorities of small business owners, as they recognize that a sound fiscal position safeguards Canada’s low-tax plan and thereby ensures sustained economic growth," D. P. Jain, Treasurer and Director, ICCC, said.

“Government should provide subsidy to promote new entrepreneurs for investment by starting some special economic zones in the larger interest of the Canadian economy”, Tony Chawla, Director, ICCC, said.

The issue of amortization period was also comes to limelight during the discussion as it is very hard for the new immigrant to buy a house with the present amortization conditions so the period of amortization should be increased from 25 to 35 years. Minister Uppal assured that he will look into the issues raised by the chamber leadership for formulating the economic policies in future.

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) organized an interactive luncheon Sunday with Hon. Joe Oliver, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, to discuss the Minister’s recently-concluded official visit to India.

Minister Oliver was in India in January 2014 and visited Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. His visit to India coincided with Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC)’s India Mission 2014. The mission visited ten cities spread across eight Indian states. Minister Oliver hosted a breakfast for ICCC’s India Mission delegates in Mumbai. The delegates also participated in a business reception in Mumbai where Minister Oliver was the keynote speaker, and an interactive session that Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University had organized with the Minister in Gandhinagar.

Speaking at the interactive session, Minister Oliver said, “History has made Canada and India friends. Commerce is making us partners. And more than a million people of Indian origin now call Canada home. So demography, quite literally, is making us family.”

            Lauding the ICCC for its role in fostering bilateral relations, he said, “The work of your Chamber matters. Both our governments recognize the importance of the Canada-India partnership. Since 2008, Indian ministers have visited Canada 10 times. Canadian ministers have made a total of 13 visits to India – including my second official trip last month.”

 “Canada is becoming a 21st century energy and resource superpower. So in New Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad, my mission was to spread that message. To advance our economic partnership with India. To promote Canada as a safe, secure, reliable market and an attractive destination for capital investment.”

Enumerating the growing economic ties between the two partners, Minister said, “Fourteen percent of growth in world energy demand from 2011 to 2025 is expected to come from India alone. Canada, meanwhile, is becoming a leading supplier of energy and resources and needs to diversify its markets. India needs what we have and wants to diversify its sources of supply. And that strategic complementarity creates an historic opportunity.”

Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, in his remarks, emphasized the tremendous response the India Mission 2014 received in the ten cities that it visited. “There is tremendous interest for Canada amongst Indian entrepreneurial class. In every city that we went, especially in South India, we were overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response,” he said.

He informed the participants at the interaction that the main focus of the mission was on three sectors – agriculture and agrifoods, education and energy – and in all these three sectors the Chamber was able to organize meaningful conferences that explored the growing bilateral opportunities.

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) in association with Export Development Canada (EDC) organized a session on Success Strategies for Global Business that included a workshop on risk and cash flow management. John M. McPherson, Senior Advisor, Trade Advisory Services, Export Development Canada, was the main presenter at the workshop.

John M. McPherson joined the EDC in 2005 and is currently Senior Advisor within EDC’s Trade Advisory Service group. In this role, he supports a team that focuses on delivering knowledge and advice regarding Global Trade and Supply Chain Management to both internal and external clients.  His primary focus is to understand the evolving business practices employed in global value chains that lower business risks, accelerates cash flow and leverages technology to create efficient, integrated trading relationships and opportunities.

Using a case-study approach, this workshop offered a guide to tools and solutions that small and medium-sized exporters could deploy to reduce risk and protect and accelerate cash flow. The session was interactive in nature and delivered to small groups in an informal setting. The workshop was targeted at ICCC’s SME members whose annual revenues are up to $25m, and who have recently been introduced to international trade. In addition, it was also open to businesses who wanted to enhance their knowledge to protect cash flow and reduce business risk in their supply chains, and for non-finance professionals.

The workshop illuminated the risk elements that can affect cash flow at all stages of an global transaction – in tendering, procurement, production, delivery, payment, post-sales service, trade compliance and logistics; reviewed commercially available risk management and financing solutions to enhance cash flow in each area; examined practical tools that enhance understanding and management of cash flow; reviewed the cash conversion cycle and an internationalized cash flow planning tool; and provided an opportunity to share experiences with peers and to hear the presenter’s experiences in both international procurement and export sales.

Speaking on the occasion, Brij K. Sharma, Director, Trade, SME & Sponsorship, ICCC, said that one of the key factors in an increasingly integrated market was the compulsion for small businesses to explore global markets. “While this has tremendous benefits, it also has major risks in terms of cash flow and risk management. A thorough understanding of these factors is necessary before any small business can venture into this unchartered territory.”

As part of the on-going Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC)-RBC Royal Bank small business series, ICCC’s small and medium enterprise (SME) committee organized an interactive session on Funding for Growth on February 4 in Mississauga.

Adrian Cayton, Vice President, Commercial Financial Services, Toronto East Supply Chain, RBC Royal Bank, and Randy Roth, Managing Director, Corporate Finance, RBC Royal Bank, made separate presentations on the subject.

Mr. Cayton’s presentation dealt with financing including star-ups, working capital, etc. In broad terms the presentation covered the entire gamut of the funding for growth and touched upon the causes for need of funding to the manner in which the funding agencies view proposals and ultimately the path to successful outcomes. He discussed the following areas of funding for growth: catalysts, consequences, implications, criteria, metrics, solutions, safeguards, success factors.

Mr. Roth’s presentation dealt with mergers and acquisitions, financing, buyouts, etc. In broad terms the presentation covered financing for inorganic growth through mergers and acquisitions, the different levels of financing needs, the risk evaluation criteria and the approach financial institutions adopt for the disbursement. He discussed the following areas of funding for mergers and acquisitions: Canadian M&A activity, Balance sheet capitalization, Overview – subordinated debt, Overview – mezzanine financing, What lenders look for in “junior capital”, Subordinated debt – inter-creditor agreement, Characteristics of a high value business.

Brij K. Sharma, ICCC’s Director for Trade, SME and Sponsorship, in his welcome remarks emphasized the growing need for interaction between financial institutions and small businesses for both to realize the tremendous synergies that can be created, leading to funding for growth for small businesses. He said ICCC and RBC Royal Bank have devised the small business series to focus upon topics that are relevant to small business entrepreneurs.

D.P. Jain, Treasurer and Director, ICCC; and Rajni Tekriwal, Corporate Secretary and Director, ICCC; introduced the speakers, and Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC; delivered the concluding remarks.

Canada-Tamil Nadu Bilateral Trade & Investment Conference

Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian IIndustries and the Government of Tamil Nadu jointly organized a conference on Canada-Tamil Nadu Bilateral Trade & Investment. Speaking at the conference, Governor K. Rosaiah, said, “Indo-Canadian relations date back to several years. I am happy to note that more than 300 MoUs have been signed to share and collaborate on joint research programs in the fields of higher education between both countries.”

In his remarks, Naval Bajaj, President, ICCC, emphasized the need to leverage the presence of the Indo-Canadian community in Canada to promote bilateral ties. “There is a 1.2 million-strong Indian diaspora in Canada that is immensely interested in doing business in India. Presently, the Canada-India trade, which is to the tune of $5 billion, is well below the potential. The signing of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) will boost existing trade. We believe that with better cooperation, this figure could reach $15 million. We are also planning to open a resource centre in India to facilitate Canadians in getting the know-how on Indian business,” Bajaj said.

The ICCC President also spoke about branding. He said, “There is a need for the branding of India in Canada and vice versa, Canada, too, has potential trade sectors in energy, education and oil.”

Several high-profile speakers from the Tamil Nadu government and representatives of companies with operations in the states gave in-depth information about the investment climate in the state. The sectors represented at the conference included agriculture and agri-foods, food processing, energy, information technology, finance, and education.

Speakers from Canada included Hon. Joe Daniel, Member of Parliament; Subha Sundarajan from Canada’s Trade Commissioner’s Service; Ray Chan, Government of Saskatchewan; Sohail Saeed, City of Brampton; Raksh Joshi, entrepreneur from Alberta and Abu Becker, entrepreneur from Ontario.

Meeting with Hon. P. Thangamani, Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Industries

The delegation then met Tamil nadu’s Minister for Industries, Hon. P. Thangamani. Naval Bajaj apprised the Minister of the need for the Indian states to forge linkages with Canada.

“Today, even the cities in Canada are reaching out to potential investors, the Indian states should take a leaf from their book and aggressively market themselves globally,” the ICCC President said.

He said that the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce would be starting a centre for excellence for small businesses which would become a resource centre for Indian states who wish to explore the Canadian market.

While accepting the ICCC President’s suggestion to work closely, Minister Thangamani gave detailed information of Tamil Nadu’s industrial growth and prospects.

Visit to Anna University

The delegation then visited Anna University and held a roundtable discussion with members of the faculty that included the Prof. Dr. M. Rajaram, vice chancellor of the university, deans of different faculties, the registrar, and other senior professors. Anna University is already collaborating with the Ryerson University and a memorandum of understanding exists with Saskatchewan.

During the discussion, Anna University officials proposed that ICCC assist students from their university who come to Canada for higher studies. Naval Bajaj readily agreed to this proposal. The ICCC will be signing a MoU with the university to facilitate this collaboration.

Visit to Olympia Green Park

The delegation visited the Olympia Technology Park is an environmentally friendly park with a modern 8.4 acre technology environment, futuristic design and state-of-the-art construction, environmentally complaint planning, more than a million square feet of commercial space, telecommunication broadband connectivity with redundancy through multiple service providers.

Visit to Hyundai factory

The delegation visited the fully automated workshops at the Hyundai facility that can produce a vehicle on the assembly line within 72 seconds. The delegation discussed the possibilities of collaboration between the facility and the auto ancillary units that are owned by Indo-Canadians.

In addition to these business visits, the delegation also visited Dakishnamurthy, the cultural heritage centre of Tamil Nadu, and Mallapuram, the culture and folk art centre.