We aim to help 300 Indian startups set up in Canada by 2025: TBDC chief

Canada has emerged as one of the most favoured destinations not only among students pursuing higher education but also among young entrepreneurs. The country is opening its gates to 500,000 migrants in each of the next three years, hoping a sizable number will be potential entrepreneurs. The Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC) has been at the forefront in helping future entrepreneurs to set up shop in Tornoto. Serial entrepreneur Vikram Khurana, who is also the Chair at TBDC and CEO of Brampton BHive, an incubator for international startups set up in partnership with the city of Brampton and its Innovation District, talks to Namit Gupta about TBDC’s value proposition for those moving into Canada permanently. Edited excerpts:

What are TBDC’s key objectives?

TBDC is a not-for-profit entity formed by the city of Toronto in 1990. It assists the Economic Development Department of Ontario—the province to which Toronto belongs--to help improve business practices at single- or two-entrepreneur set-ups. We also educate school and university students about entrepreneurship through courses in association with the Toronto Public Library and help them start summer businesses. Thirdly, we work with the government to help people who are on welfare, or the differently-abled to make them self-employed.

How is Canada trying to attract entrepreneurial talent to the country?

Canada has three incubator and accelerator categories. The first, run by universities, helps students work with professors and industry to develop solutions the market hasn’t yet tried. These incubators have their own patent and commercialisation offices. The second, a government initiative, is inspired by Silicon Valley. It’s an ecosystem where capitalists are available and entrepreneurs feel free to achieve whatever they want to achieve. The third is the for-profit incubator who has made it big and is now trying to hit the next jackpot, or find the next icon and help him succeed.

How does TBDC fit into this?

When TBDC started off as an incubator, it found that nobody was servicing entrepreneurs moving to the country. Canada is inviting 500,000 immigrants a year for the next three years. That’s 1.5 million immigrants, many of whom will be entrepreneurs. Their needs will be very different from those of local entrepreneurs because they’ll need help understanding Canadian business etiquette and breaking into a completely new market. Apart from cold calling skills and persistence, you also have to have some ‘warm introductions’. We do this by introducing you to mentors, industry players and subject matter experts, lawyers, and other professionals, endorsing you to them at the same time.

TBDC has supported 200-plus startups enter Canada’s business landscape through the Start-Up Visa Program, giving them access to 100-plus mentor networks, VC and PE funds in Ontario, prime office space in the heart of Toronto, and perks worth $15,000. Our aim is to support 300 Indian startups and entrepreneurs set up base in Canada by 2025.

What excites you about established or budding Indian entrepreneurs moving to Canada?

There is an interesting business in Boston called One-way VC--a name inspired by the propensity of Indian entrepreneurs to come on a one-way ticket, armed with a strong zeal to succeed. They'll even take up a job or start the next business if the first one fails.

The second exciting thing about India is that many ideas that are solving the world's problems today emerged from its ecosystem--like Paytm in the wallet payment space. Many Indian pharmaceutical giants were startups at some point. Why, even Infosys started from scratch. Many such enterprises have overtaken established conglomerates just on the strength of an idea, persistence and perseverance. We want such folks in Canada. We have immigration tools like Land & Expand and Startup Visa Program (SUV) to help them relocate.

How does TBDC tap migrating entrepreneurs from India?

We have three people in India who answer questions from migrating entrepreneurs about life in Ontario, the business opportunities, setting up an enterprise, and so on. We try to service all that in the local time zone itself. We also do intake events—pitch sessions that work with large partners such as Startup India, Kerala Tech, the IITs, and large incubators who have business cases or entrepreneurs wishing to enter North America.

To answer the second part of your question, entrepreneurs can find a lot of information on our website and are encouraged to apply. Prospective immigrants can also contact our liaison offices in Delhi and Mumbai. We run a rigorous process to make sure they don’t fail within a few months of arriving here, that they have everything, they have thought of everything, and have all the support necessary, Once they arrive, we support them further.

How would you support them? Do you extend capital?

First, we help you raise capital from VCs and other resources. Second, we help them hire. Third, we put you in touch with mentors or people from your background going through similar struggles--we also give you office space and an environment in which you can learn quickly. It’s an extensive six-month exercise.

How many Indians have you helped in the past, in 2022 so far, and in 2021? How did Covid impact your operations?

In 2021, we did about 138 – we are very selective. This year we have done about 120. The pandemic was actually good for us because people who wouldn’t normally have taken risks and would have avoided incubators or accelerators like us actually reached out.

How is your plan to get 100 international entrepreneurs to start businesses in the Greater Toronto Area shaping up?

We are running this programme with the Ontario government to attract entrepreneurs wanting to move with minimum investment of CAD 200,000. A new initiative under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP), the Entrepreneur Success Initiative (ESI), has been designed to enable communities throughout the province to receive the benefits of business growth and retention through economic immigration.

Many Indian students in Canada come from business families. Their parents may want to start something for them in the country or set up a base here for their existing businesses in India. We are looking for such entrepreneurs, However this programme does not insist on innovation and is even open to those wanting to start something as simple as, say, a plastic molding unit, teaching enterprise or a  small trucking business.

How does Canada aim to support entrepreneurs and startups to establish scalable businesses by 2025?

The immigration plans of the country are always made three years at a time. This explains why the number of immigrants that Canada is targeting is 500,000 a year, for three years. And of this 500,000, the government wants to bring at least 5,000 entrepreneurs who have innovative solutions that can be quickly patented. This would enable them to get their first orders when they move in. So that's how we've aligned with the national goals.

Can you share some success stories?

One of Canada’s biggest companies today is Green for Life, a listed unicorn into waste management. Its market cap is about CAD 13 billion. It has grown to about 13,000 people, from just two Canadian-born student entrepreneurs, whose parents migrated from Greece.

Indian enterprise Doormonk, offers cutting-edge solutions to help food businesses and vendors communicate seamlessly, and use data analytics to optimise costs and food wastage. We helped them set up base in Canada in 2018 and close a seed funding round in May 2019, raising $100,000. Today they are bootstrapped, profitable, and targeting $2 million in revenue.