Fourteen Niagara College students participated in a nine-week international internship during the summer of 2015.
During the summer of 2015, 14 Niagara College students travelled to six countries including Jamaica, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and South Africa to complete a nine-week international internship with support from the Ontario Global Edge program.
OGE is an initiative of the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Employment; it provides financial support to students to promote youth entrepreneurship globally. The objective of the program is to give students a first-hand opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship and the role of small-and medium-sized businesses in a global economy.
Below is some advice provided by two of the OGE interns to GNCC members about how to do business globally.
Andrew Allison, programme assistant
JAMPRO — Kingston, Jamaica
Jamaica is a great country ripe with plenty of exporting and importing opportunities.The first thing someone looking to break into the Jamaican market should do is connect with JAMPRO, a government funded organization that promotes investment, imports and exports in the Jamaican market. Meeting with one of JAMPRO’s trained professionals could be very valuable and crucial to the success of a new business in Jamaica. It is also worthy to note that Jamaica has a very developed business process outsourcing (BPO) market; a great thing for a new business in the Jamaican Market. There are plenty of other resources available online and I would recommend reviewing www.doingbusiness.org to better understand any foreign market before entering it.
Kyle Breukelman, international education officer
Ecuadorian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce — Guayaquil, Ecuador
This summer I was privileged to have been placed in Ecuador for my co-op where I worked at the Ecuadorian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Guayaquil. As the international education officer, my responsibilities were to reach out to educational institutions with information about event sponsorship, promoting their school, or becoming members of the Chamber. Ecuador is a terrific country with friendly, smart and hardworking people in the business community and it is a nation that welcomes foreign investors and entrepreneurs. Ecuadorians are very patriotic people but in recent years have shown interest in opening up their economy to foreigners. My advice for individuals interested in entering a foreign market is to reach out to places like the Ecuadorian-Canadian Chamber of Commerce and maintain an open mind while working in an international economy.
