MONTREAL, Oct. 25, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada is proud to partner with the City of Montreal in launching The Cabinet Créatif de Montréal, a dedicated initiative to support the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The project will focus on providing coaching and training related to core business competencies including planning successful business trips to stimulate national and international expansion.
Air Canada, the City of Montreal and its leading incubators, accelerators and service providers such as Lune Rouge, La Piscine, MT Lab, PHI Centre, Ecole des Entrepreneurs, Infopresse and WeWork collaborated to develop multi-faceted initiatives that will emphasize the importance of international expansion, as well as the planning of commercial missions to develop new business opportunities.
"As a global airline, we understand the complexities and necessities required to drive international growth. International expansion is an important phase in the evolution of a company's life cycle. Our objective with this collaborative project is to provide SMEs with the tools and mentorship needed to position their business outside of their local market. While currently available only in Montreal, we hope to expand this project nationally," said John Macleod, Vice President, Global Sales and Alliances at Air Canada
"As part of its 2018-2022 Economic Development Strategy, the city has taken action to accelerate the growth of our collective wealth in an inclusive and sustainable way. The Cabinet créatif is one of the initiatives that will enable creative and cultural businesses to consolidate their achievements locally, and to gain international outreach. This represents an unprecedented opportunity for our small and medium-sized businesses to position themselves in every respect. I would like to thank all private and public partners who join forces with us to support this flagship economic sector of our metropolis," said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.
A total of 15 local SME's will be selected to participate in an innovative 5-month project. In addition to training, support and coaching in commercial development, the accelerator project will offer over 25 hours of mentorship in market and export development plans,10 hours of free legal consultation, a market research guide, a day with Infopresse and a psychometric exam guide to assist with the talent acquisition process.
The curriculum will help companies plan their growth strategy, target and tailor their products to desired markets and provide insight into the options related to their business travel all with the goal of growing their business.
Businesses wishing to take part can apply online until November 23 at cabinetcreatif.ca, with the 15 finalists announced in January 2019 at the Expo Entrepreneurs forum in Montreal.
About Air Canada for Business
Air Canada for Business is a free program designed for small and medium-sized companies to help them save on business travel, earn rewards and enjoy exclusive member offers every time they book with Air Canada and select partner airlines. The program offers a convenient tool for booking business travel. Users can book business travel, reserve cars and manage and share itineraries for multiple employees, all while keeping track of both travel expenses and program rewards in real-time. It's free to join online and requires no minimum spend or commitment.
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 220 airports on six continents. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2017 served more than 48 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 59 in the United States and 98 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,317 airports in 193 countries. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax, which also named Air Canada the 2018 Best Airline in North America. For more information, please visit: aircanada.com/media, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.
Internet: aircanada.com
SOURCE Air Canada
