CENTRE FOR WOMEN IN BUSINESS AND ATLANTIC CANADA OPPORTUNITIES AGENCY VIRTUAL TRADE MISSION TO JAMAICA AND MIAMI

Year(s): 2020
Client: Centre for Women in Business and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
​Origin of funding: The Government of Canada via the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency
Sector:  Multi-sectoral
Country(s): Canada, Jamaica, and United States

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Kisserup International Trade Roots Inc. was contracted by the Centre for Women in Business (CWB) in partnership with the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) to conduct research, matchmaking, mentoring, and monitoring of outcomes for a multi-sector business-to-business trade mission for a group of Atlantic Canada SMEs to Jamaica and Miami, Florida. While initially planned as an in-market mission taking place in May of 2020, the trade mission transitioned into a virtually focused mission (VTM) due to the travel restrictions of COVID-19.
As this mission was conducted entirely virtually, the Kisserup team oversaw the management and training of virtual meeting platforms, ensuring all delegates and leads were prepared for the mission's ICT component, which was completely novel for many delegates. Furthermore, Kisserup was responsible for managing in-market consultants in the Florida and Jamaica marketplace, enabling the Delegates’ to receive connections from each market and engaging with local stakeholders for sustained impact in the region.
The diverse group of delegates saw positive and tangible results in the market. This project further saw an innovative uptake on increased delegate mentorship by the Kisserup team of consultants, who dedicated 15-20+ hours of mentorship total per delegate together with a result-oriented measurement tool for each meeting conducted throughout the mission.
For the delegates that participated, over 245 hours of mentorship and 120 meetings with B2B and B2G with qualified leads were conducted. Further outcomes included sales made to both Jamaica and Florida markets with project proposals sent to leads for future business developments initiatives and impact.