With special visas, Canada seeks to attract Indian startups

Seeking a pie of India’s fast-growing startup ecosystem, Canada is offering special visas to Indian entrepreneurs keen to expand their business in the North American nation.

Canada also seeks to benefit from stricter immigration policies rolled out by the US administration and it making attractive offers and friendly trade ties with Washington to access markets there.

“The start-up visa (SUV) program is a perfect launchpad for Indian entrepreneurs looking to start their business in Canada,” Neha Bahl, Chief Executive Officer of Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC) told DH.

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Besides the SUV, the TBDC also offers the International Soft-Landing Program designed for established international scale-ups and startups looking to expand businesses in North America.

Despite the pandemic, more than 100 entrepreneurs have set up their businesses in Canada last year and TBDC aims to help over 1,000 startups to set up businesses in the country by 2025.

Toronto offers startups access to a rich talent pool due to the city’s ability to attract highly-skilled professionals from all industries, besides offering grants, subsidies and tax breaks.

Indian startup ecosystem among the largest globally, with about 50,000 startups, growing at 12-15% annually. India is also home to 31 unicorns – startup firms with a valuation of more than one billion dollars.

Among the startups from India that have set up shop in Toronto include VideoTap, Zaggle, Enrich.io, Ascent Technologies and TechRyde.