Ontario’s economy has experienced some dramatic changes over the past year and a half. A strong Canadian dollar, high oil and energy prices, a weakening US trading partner, and intensifying global competition have all had a significant impact on business. These changes have only reinforced the need to diversify export markets. Expanding into the international marketplace has proven to be beneficial to businesses individually and the broader business climate as a whole.

Taking the plunge into new markets can be risky for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) and it can be difficult to find the resources necessary to make the expansion. The Ontario Chamber of Commerce has developed a program, Export Market Access (EMA), with funding from the Government of Ontario and the Government of Canada to help SME’s export to new markets and expand within current markets. Since its inception in 2008, the program has helped over 220 companies and given out over 2.3 million dollars.

EMA helps with some of the costs associated with reaching new export markets in four categories: direct contact, marketing tools, market research and foreign bidding projects. The contributions made by the EMA program make it possible for many SME’s to launch themselves into markets that would otherwise be unattainable.

Making these export markets available allows for a stronger more stable customer base for these SME’s. If we continue to invest in business within the province, the Ontario economy will emerge stronger and more diverse. For more information on the EMA program, please visit the website at www.exportaccess.ca.

This is something many of you have probably heard if you’ve ever played on any sort of team. Coaches worldwide have taught this lesson to create harmonious, effective, competitive teams. It seems once again a team lesson applies to something else in life, this time it’s the global economy.  

A recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal by Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, focused on this lesson by emphasizing that trade barriers are a key concern that have the real potential to prolong the recession. The article: Don’t Go Wobbly on Trade – Barriers to commerce are a surefire way to prolong the recession states, “A more interdependent Global economy means that a downturn in one country translates more rapidly to a downturn elsewhere,” but the good news is, “with the global production chain more interlinked than ever before, we all benefit more quickly and more directly from a pick up in global trading flows.”

I say let’s all win together.