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Trade Accelerator Program offers expert advice, support for export expansion

A s businesses grow, it’s important to consider utilizing a program such as Trade Accelerator Program Atlantic (TAP) to assist in expanding beyond Canada’s borders.

Asked how accessible TAP is to immigrant entrepreneurs, the Halifax Chamber of Commerce says, “We try to make TAP as accessible as we can and we want diversity represented in our cohorts.”

TAP is designed to lead you through four phases that will achieve your goal of having a solid export plan:

Phase 1: Discover
Workshops make you more familiar with available exporting resources and utilize peer-to-peer sharing of experiences and challenges.

Phase 2: Develop
Your export plan starts coming together with direct input from leading export advisors.

Phase 3: Build
After having the full support of export advisors, you write your business expansion plan and receive an expert assessment.

Phase 4: Accelerate
In order to achieve your Strategic Export Plan, solutions will be offered by way of mentoring, constructive feedback, and solutions. Along the way, you have facilitated strong relationships with those in the export business.

Canadian export advisors, gives companies a solid base they can use to grow their business globally. So far, 100 per cent of TAP Atlantic participants, representing more than 40 companies, have completed the program. In excess of 71 per cent of those who participated in the program are now thriving by exporting to markets including China, India, Mexico, Japan, Sweden, U.K., Italy, and the United States.

Two years after their participation, business owners report an average growth of 44 per cent in export sales.

If your company qualifies, you can receive a bursary that covers $4,500 of the $5,000 cost. These bursaries are contributed by sponsors including RBC and EDC. BDC is the national advisory partner.

TAP was created by the Toronto Regional Board of Trade and the World Trade Centre Toronto and the program is available nationwide.

In order to qualify for the reduced rate, in addition to completing the program, businesses need to appoint two company representatives as participants who will be required to attend seven half-day sessions. They need to complete your export business plan and bi-annually share information about your progress with TAP.

At the conclusion of the phases offered, your company has established an export plan that’s realistic and unique to your own business goals. With the tools you need to successfully enter the global market, you can be confident your plan has been vetted by leading experts in the export industry.

In our post-pandemic world, TAP has gone virtual. This has made TAP more accessible to everyone involved in the program. If you are ready to expand your business with a global reach, you can start at tapatlantic.com to see if TAP Atlantic is right for you.

 

Pauline Milner

For over 20 years, Pauline Milner has worked as a freelancer. She has written articles, white papers, grant proposals, annual reports and insurance manuals in addition to preparing special projects and presentations. Now, Pauline is working to complete her own works including short stories, serialized stories, novelettes, two novels and two original screenplays. Interestingly, her writing crosses several genres including drama, horror, historical fiction, non-fiction and general fiction. Pauline lives in rural New Brunswick, Canada in a restored farmhouse with her husband and their dog, Casey. Living on a property with five working farms, she loves to do voluntary chores because who could resist feeding baby lambs and cuddling hens?