With our entrepreneurial edge, Canada, and Windsor in particular is well positioned for explosive growth over the next few decades. We have a very stable political environment, easy access to major markets, an incredibly well educated population, and an ever-growing entrepreneurial spirit.
Let me tell you about my recent trip to France and then I’ll explain how it relates to our entrepreneurial edge here in Windsor.
My family and I recently returned from a vacation in the South of France and the first question I received when we got back to Canada was “I bet you wish you were back in France?” (That’s me in the feature photo reading my copy of Biz X in France.)
Great food, great wine, great weather, great culture…not to mention the rich history and the plethora of ancient ruins and castles, France provides all of that and so much more. The region we reside in has been described as follows:
“Bigger than a country, heir to a past so rich it concentrates in itself alone more sites on the register of World Heritage sites than any other region in France, Languedoc Roussillon Midi Pyrenees is that land where uniqueness is everywhere within your grasp.” – Magazine Destinatioin Languedoc Roussillon Midi Pyrennees
One day we decided to take a road trip to a neighboring city and within an hour of driving we stumbled upon the Tour de France. This was an amazing experience that will be a favourite memory for my family for years to come.
Later we tried the same road trip and this time we did make it to our destination, the city of Sete. The week we were visiting Sete, the city was hosting an international poetry festival, where poets from across the world gathered to read poetry in the street. There were poetry readings in the city square, on the seaside, and on many of the city streets. This was a beautiful way for people to come together, locals and tourists, and enjoy great poetry in outdoor setting that celebrated the city.
So the obvious answer would be… “I wish I was still back in France.” But the question does not take into consideration that we had the privilege of enjoying France on vacation, which is very different from actually living there permanently.
The competition for jobs is fierce and the average salary is significantly lower in France than in Canada. It has also become a challenging for some of the major EU countries, such as France, Germany and UK to deal with the influx of people from other EU countries migrating there for employment. This has fueled major events like Brexit, the consequences of which have yet to be truly felt across Europe.
There is also the growing fear of dealing with terrorist attacks, many of which are perpetrated by nationals, which makes it impossible to defend against. While we felt perfectly safe during our stay in France, there was a terrible attack in Nice two hours away which claimed over 80 lives and injured hundreds.
So to answer the original question, I loved spending time in France and there is much we could learn from the slower pace of life and France’s famed café culture, their passion for supporting everything local and their general joie de vivre. People buy groceries for the day, sometimes twice a day, which makes everything incredibly fresh, healthy and delicious. They support their local farmers and winemakers and are home to some of the oldest co-ops in the world. And of course the scenery is spectacular.
All that being said, I was still very happy to return to Canada. Canada, especially the City of Windsor, is well positioned for economic and social success going forward. It is an amazing base for entrepreneurs to start and launch a business having an incredible geographic advantage that cannot be matched.
In a document developed by the World Economic Forum titled, ‘Entrepreneurial Ecosystems Around the Globe and Company Growth Dynamics’ places N. America at the top when it comes to entrepreneurship from a global level. The study looked at eight major pillars and how they stack up depending on region as described below. There is no surprise that one region in particular, Silicon Valley, is the undisputed leader across all pillars. N. America as a whole is a close second to Silicon Valley on the majority of the pillars, scoring much higher than Europe and Asia, MEA and Australia/NZ.
Three areas of vital importance emerged:
- Accessible Markets
- Human Capital/Workforce
- Funding & Finance
In Canada, and Windsor in particular, we score particularly high on accessible markets. Within an 8-hour drive we have direct access to a vast majority of the N. American consumer market. Given our geographic location we are less than four hours away from Canada’s major tech corridor, Silicon Valley North, and we can take advantage of Detroit as a transportation hub and fly inexpensively anywhere in the US. We will also be enjoying the benefits of having a new bridge (possibly two bridges) coming online in the near future creating greater connection to Detroit and the US.
With regards to human capital, that is where the universities and the colleges will play key roles in the future. Working closely to promote entrepreneurship and build on the regional ecosystem will have a major impact going forward. There are some great examples of this happening across Ontario and Canada – check out Ryerson’s DMZ, which recently ranked third in the world and first in North America and Innovate Calgary, which ranked sixth in the world in terms of incubators.
On the funding and finance component we are also starting to make significant progress in Canada. Although funding is not as freely available as in the US (which happens in specific pockets such as Silicon Valley), there has been a significant improvement in Canada over the past 5 years. There is more government funding, banks and credit unions that are starting to be more confident working with entrepreneurs and startups, and the angel network has grown significantly. Specifically in Windsor, we now have WECAN – Windsor Essex Capital Angel Network, which is based out of the Accelerator providing a great platform for entrepreneurs to connect with angel investors. The organization has also made huge strides connecting with angel groups from across Michigan and the US, providing the opportunity to connect Canadian startups with US investors. The timing for this is exceptional as US investors instantly gain 30% on their investment due to the favourable exchange rate.
Currently Canada is also riding a huge tech wave, which is positioning us for explosive growth. In a recent report, The State of Canada’s Tech Sector, produced by the Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship (BII+E) which highlights the importance of entrepreneurship, particularly tech entrepreneurship, to Canada’s economy. In 2015:
- The tech sector was directly responsible for $117 billion or 7.1 percent of Canada’s economic output, greater than that of the finance and insurance industry.
- 864,000 Canadians were employed in the tech sector, which made up 5.6 percent of Canada’s total employment.
- At over $9.1 billion, the tech sector was by far the largest private sector investor in research and development.
- The tech sector was also comprised of nearly 71,000 firms that year, representing 6.1 percent of all Canadian businesses.
- Tech sector employees earned approximately $67,000 a year, compared to the national average of nearly $48,000.
So to reiterate I love vacationing in France and there is a great deal that we as a very young nation can learn and adopt from the French, but without question I love working and living in Canada more.