June 10, 2004
In 2001, six CFDCs from across Ontario’s northeast joined forces to create a Northeastern Ontario Export Development Initiative. Each CFDC invested money for a total budget of $450,000 over three years. Partnerships were also extended to include FedNor and HRDC. Ellen Sinclair, Executive Director of the Venture Centre in Timmins exclaims, “Talk about strength in numbers! Since our first meeting, our combined efforts have gone a long way in raising the awareness of the value of export activity. We’ve really stirred the export pot!”
The Northeastern Ontario Export Development Initiative recognized the lack of export activity across this area of the north that spans 200,000 square kilometers. By pooling resources and funds, a Regional Trade Advisor was hired with a mandate to travel throughout the region, meet with SMEs, provide advice on becoming export ready, develop international marketing plans, meet SME export training needs, and listen to what SMEs need to further develop their trade and export capacity. Trade Advisor Marc Barrette says, “The biggest role I play is helping SMEs navigate their way through all the export information out there. Companies get lost in the myriad of information. I’m here to help get them on the right path by weeding through the extra information and increase their confidence to begin exporting.” Marc firmly believes that without this Initiative, Northeastern SMEs would have continued to struggle with being on a level playing with the bigger companies in urban areas like Toronto.
The overall goal of this Initiative is to have more SMEs looking at exporting as a viable option for developing their markets. Ellen Sinclair notes that, “Individual CFDCs would have been unable to coordinate an export project that would raise the awareness of exporting opportunities to such a level. Pooling our collective resources has made this project possible. Over the past few years, we have really synergized as a group to meet this region-wide goal. It may sound like a cliché, but we truly are stronger when we work together.”
Sinclair attributes the success of the Initiative to three things: 1.) the expertise on the ground through the Trade Advisor and hands-on training sessions; 2.) the networking of the six CFDCs; and 3.) the FedNor and HRDC funding, which helped to make it all possible. “At one time, we were all plotting along on our own course when we realized that individually we didn’t know a lot about the export part of our mandate,” says Sinclair. “We got back to basics and realized that if we got together, we could learn more about the export side of our portfolio. Boy, were we right.” Marc Barrette adds, “We all know that as time goes on, the North will have less of a dependence on natural resources. We need to be developing other areas and export is one of them. This Initiative is a great stepping stone for greater things to come.”