Canada trade boss to visit PH, meets Filipino business owners in Manitoba and BC

Canada’s minister of international trade and economic development Mary Ng visited Manitoba and British Columbia August 15 to 18 to meet with diverse business owners and small business groups, including Filipino entrepreneurs.

Ng explained the government’s efforts to break down barriers so small businesses can access capital, adopt digital technologies, export into new markets and create good local jobs.

Canada’s minister of international trade and economic development Mary Ng will visit the Philippines in September.

In Winnipeg, Ng announced that Women’s Enterprise Organizations of Canada (WEOC) will start providing loans of up to $50,000 to women entrepreneurs and business owners this fall through the Women Entrepreneurship Loan Fund.

A key part of the $6 billion Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES), the Loan Fund provides women entrepreneurs across the country with much-needed capital to start up, scale up and succeed. Nearly $30 million will be invested in women-owned businesses with the expansion of the Loan Fund through WEOC.

While meeting with local Manitoban Filipino business owners, Minister Ng announced that she will be visiting the Philippines on Sept. 19 and 20, 2022, to strengthen trade and people-to-people ties between the two countries.

In British Columbia, the minister met with the South Asian Business Association of British Columbia in Surrey. She also met with business owners and organizations in Osoyoos and Kelowna, including Nk’Mip Cellars, Crush Dynamics, Gorman Bros. Lumber and Northern Cherries.

She concluded the tour by joining Accelerate Okanagan, a business accelerator, to discuss how federal investments through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy and the Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative are supporting women entrepreneurs in STEM fields through capital, networks and mentorship.