Irish Minister for Trade Promotion leads trade and investment visit to Canada
Irish companies partnering with Canadian counterparts to deliver innovative solutions across healthcare, fintech, agritech, engineering and cleantech
Irish government invests in strengthening Irish-Canadian business relationship with establishment of new Enterprise Ireland office in Montréal
TORONTO, Nov. 1, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - The Irish Minister for Trade Promotion, Robert Troy, today commences a two-day visit to Canada, meeting with Irish companies doing business in Canada, and supporting Canadian and Irish companies that are working in partnership together. The visit is led by the Irish government's trade and innovation agency Enterprise Ireland, with an office in Toronto and a newly opened office in Montréal.
Irish companies have been increasingly investing in the Canadian market; over 500 client companies of Enterprise Ireland have been doing business in Canada in recent years, employing over 6,000 people in Canada. In 2020, Irish companies exported over EUR1.7 billion worth of goods to Canada.
Highlights of the trade visit include:
- the official market launch of Irish fintech Swoop Funding; a matching platform helping start-ups and SMEs access funding across equity, debt and grants.
- multi-sector contract announcements between Enterprise Ireland clients and their Canadian business partners.
- participation in a healthcare advisory panel with key opinion leaders from Canada's healthcare sector and a consumer retail event at the Irish Design House.
On his arrival in Canada, Minister Troy said, "I am delighted to be here in Canada, our first in-market trade visit to the country since 2019. We are very fortunate to have been able to maintain strong relationships with Canada, both culturally and economically, over many years. As we look ahead to a post-pandemic recovery, this trade visit is an important opportunity to strengthen our relationship while also highlighting the many opportunities for both Canadian and Irish businesses. I look forward to more frequent trade visits such as this to build on these exciting opportunities.
"During my visit, I will meet with a broad range of business representatives and hear first-hand about their work and growth plans in Canada. The Irish government is here to provide support that will help both Irish and Canadian partners to prosper through opportunity and shared learnings. I believe that we can all benefit from the strengths that we have in common across a range of sectors, including financial services, fintech, life sciences, agritech and digital technologies."
Tom Cusack, Head of International Sales and Partnering at Enterprise Ireland, said, "We look forward to meeting many of our Canadian partners and Enterprise Ireland client companies that have been contributing to the economy and industry here across so many sectors."
"We are particularly pleased to officially open Enterprise Ireland's second Canadian office in Montréal. Québec is a unique place with a strong identity and excellent businesses. The opportunity for Irish and Canadian firms to establish strong partnerships and achieve mutual success has never been greater. We believe there is huge potential for Irish companies to explore untapped opportunities in this uniquely dynamic and vibrant region."
Some examples of Irish entrepreneurs and their Canadian success stories include:
Swoop Canada Launch
The visit coincides with the official market launch of Irish fintech company Swoop Funding in Canada. The company is a high potential fintech start-up in Enterprise Ireland's client portfolio. Swoop's matching platform helps start-ups and SMEs access funding across equity, debt and grants.
Since opening their Canadian office in 2020, XOCEAN's uncrewed surface vessels (USV) have successfully completed the first multi-USV survey of Lake Superior and missions in hydrography, pipeline inspection and site characterization. They've also been awarded the XO-G2 project with Canada's Ocean Supercluster.
Working with international organizations to design, manage and deliver high value business critical projects the Malone Group has been appointed as international project partner by Pond Technologies in Markham, ON – a cleantech company operating a vertically integrated model to enable industries to monetize their waste emissions, reduce their carbon footprint and create sustainable products.
With a goal of providing better care and minimizing the escalation of care for ventilated patients and those with respiratory health issues during COVID-19, Aerogen became the aerosol drug delivery device of choice for three Montréal hospitals in emergency, on the floors and in their ICUs.
Revolutionizing the way companies handle and store goods, Combilift has secured significant contracts in Ontario and Quebec and is on track to realize over 100% growth by the end of the year.
Workvivo serves as the employee communications platform for Canadian-headquartered TELUS International, and has expanded its contract with their 50,000 employees globally now using the internal communications platform. Workvivo has grown over 400% year-over-year in Canada, and is on course to expand even further over the next year.
Providing precision diet feeding technology to optimally mix and prepare feed for maximum animal performance, Keenan will be announcing the expansion of seven new sales and service partners across Québec. Every day, Keenan's innovations manage the feeding of over 300,000 animals on farms across the globe.
Seeing strong growth in Canada in 2021, Samco's newest innovation – a maize seeder which reduces film use by 30% without compromising on crop performance, has experienced strong demand and pre-orders in Quebec and Alberta for 2022.
With Canada identified as a key growth market, and despite the logistics challenges of the pandemic, ProDig exported its first shipments to the Canadian market in 2021 and has appointed two import and distribution companies, North Valley Equipment (BC and AB) and Harco Ag (ON), to handle their agri-equipment sales across Canada.
About Enterprise Ireland
- Enterprise Ireland is the Irish Government's trade and innovation agency.
- We invest in the most innovative Irish companies through all stages of their growth and connect them to international customers across multiple industries.
- Our goal is to build successful, long-term business relationships between international companies and Irish partners.
- With 40 offices worldwide, Enterprise Ireland's teams of industry experts consult with international businesses to understand and solve their business needs.
SOURCE Enterprise Ireland
Niki Javdan, [email protected], CASACOM
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