Wentworth Strategy Group is excited to announce that it will be participating as a mentor and industry expert with the Hamilton-based delivery of Canada's Trade Accelerator program, starting on September 10th, 2020. This partnership directly advances Wentworth's mandate of helping Canadian small and medium enterprises thrive and contribute to a healthy economy.
This program is being facilitated by the Hamilton Economic Development office, in partnership with the Chambers of Commerce, the Toronto Board of Trade, the Royal Bank of Canada, and government partners at Export Development Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada.
The Trade Accelerator Program is a hands-on workshops and seminars to help Ontario SME’s scale up, develop and execute a strategic export plan. TAP provides companies with access to Canada’s top exporting advisors, resources and contacts, giving them the training and support they need to be successful on an international scale.
The program main outcome is a finalised Strategic Export Strategy assessed and vetted by industry leading partners and sponsors, who help companies navigate the export ecosystem.
Given COVID, this program will run for 5 weeks with a weekly half-day virtual session covering all the essential knowledge needed to support companies growing globally. Presentations include: Financial Planning, Grants and Government Assistance, International Law and Tax, Supply Chain, E-Commerce, International Sales and Marketing. At the end of each day participants will be encouraged to start completing their Export Plan related to the topics presented. Once the five-week workshops and the export plan are completed the Mentoring Sessions will take place, where the export plan is reviewed by the mentors in 1-on-1 setting.
TAP graduates’ results speak for themselves:
33% average growth in their export revenue
51% hired new staff
71% of participants are actively exporting
90% of graduates declared to be better prepared to do business internationally
42% of companies secured additional financing since graduating the program, with an average of $2.04 million in additional financing received per company
Participant profile:
Established Ontario-based SME’s (not for start-up companies with little or no capital)
Minimum revenue $500k (flexible with this requirement)
Are already exporters or are serious about committing resources to the exporting effort
Participation by C-level is required
Commitment to carry through with the program, attend all four sessions, and complete a written export plan
Company can be in any sector – the Hamilton sessions are multisector (both goods and services providers are welcome to participate)
Hamilton-based companies interested in participating are encouraged to connect with Leandro Guimaraes, Manager, of the Trade Accelerator Program, at lguimaraes@bot.com.