Ontario suppliers produce high quality, innovative goods and services at competitive prices, and Canadian products have a strong reputation for quality around the world. International buyers are looking for these goods as solutions to their manufacturing and customer needs.The increasing integration and interdependence of domestic and international markets offers growth opportunities through exports and international partnerships. Making a match between buyers and sellers is one of the ways Brampton Economic Development and Tourism (EDT) office supports the expansion of our business community.
EDT staff meets regularly with foreign-based companies who are interested in doing business with Canadian companies. EDT staff also visits businesses throughout our community year-round to learn about the products and services being innovated, manufactured in and distributed from Brampton. By learning about local business capacities and developing global networks, EDT can refer sellers to buyers, or make business introductions concerning joint ventures and other business partnerships.
In 2015, EDT made close to 600 in-person contacts through inbound business delegations, missions to the North East and Great Lakes Basin areas of United States, and through EDT’s extensive network of local partners with global interests. Sectors of focus included Advanced Manufacturing, Food and Beverage Processing, ICT, and Health and Life Sciences especially. To access global opportunities, simply contact Brampton EDT and invite us to visit your business for a tour and discussion of your global aspirations. (cassandra.baccardax@brampton.ca 905-874-3693)
Other sources of leads from international buyers can come from online databases such as in the Invest in Ontario website SourceFromOntario: http://www.sourcefromontario.com/en/page/index.php Buyers from anywhere in the world can use this database to source products from businesses across Ontario. If your business is not already on this free database, you simply need to create an Industry Canada account, then use that to sign in to SourceFromOntario.
Another extensive online database is Canadian Companies Capabilities, currently with 60,000 Canadian companies listed, and more than 500,000 domestic and international companies browsing each month. This free listing is offered through Industry Canada, to allow Canadian businesses to exhibit their products and services to a global audience. http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ccc-rec.nsf/eng/home
A final database to explore, containing not just information on products but also on detailed business opportunities, is the Enterprise Canada Network (ECN), a tool available to members of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME), Canada’s largest industry and trade association. (Non-members are even entitled to several free features.) ECN is an industry-led single window platform that connects Canadian small to medium sized businesses and researchers to qualified global opportunities, facilitates international partnerships and creates trade through access to public and private sector resources.
Learn more here:http://www.enterprisecanadanetwork.ca/english/main/pricing-and-benefits.html and visit the CME site athttp://www.cme-mec.ca/
Of course, there are many other tools (free and at-a-fee) that can be used for the identification of trade opportunities, such as B2B matching services through industry associations, database and directory purchases, trade shows, social media groups for trade, RFP bid sites such as Biddingo.com, and export consultants and lead generators. For further information on getting started with exporting, visit these key links: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/business/trade.htmlhttps://www.ontario.ca/page/take-your-business-global http://www.edc.ca/EN/About-Exporting/Pages/default.aspx
Keep in mind that Source From Ontario, Canadian Company Capabilities, and Enterprise Canada Network, are terrific tools to begin with.