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Ramadan markets serve as launch pad for Muslim entrepreneurs
Before the start of Ramadan last month, Laila Abu-Jazar spent night after night in her Oakville, Ont., commercial kitchen perfecting more than 1,000 8-ounce jars of cheesecake, including new Ramadan-inspired flavours such as baklava, date and mango. During her three-day stint at the Ramadan Market at the Square One Mall in Mississauga, she sold every jar. But the boost to her business, Laila’s Cheesecake Co., didn’t stop when the market finished. Catering requests and special orders are still pouring in from customers she met at the event. Story
Former Wattpad executive Eva Lau announces first venture fund
One of Toronto’s most prominent angel investors, former Wattpad Corp. executive Eva Lau, has launched her first venture fund, becoming one of the few women in Canada to lead an early-stage investment firm. Story
Five key steps to negotiating a deal - including four magic words
Negotiations take place every single day. Walking away from them, or sticking one’s head in the sand about them, costs not only time and money, but also creates headaches. That’s how Fotini Iconomopoulos, a professional negotiation coach and instructor at York University’s Schulich School of Business, sees it. Story
See no evil: How Canada is bankrolling companies accused of bid-rigging, graft and human-rights violation
In Latin America, billions of dollars in Canadian government-backed loans have been funnelled to two of the region’s most notorious oil companies: the state-owned petroleum corporations of Mexico and Brazil, each riddled with frequent reports of bribery, bid-rigging and inflated contracts. Story
If Amazon had stuck to books, it would be a different company
When Dave Mason and Andrew Carey founded Shift IT Solutions Inc. in 2009, their goal was simple: to provide à la carte IT services to small companies. However, they quickly discovered that there were two major flaws with that strategy. Story
Waterloo’s Kik Interactive charged by SEC over $100-million unregistered ICO
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is suing Canadian tech startup Kik Interactive Inc. for allegedly conducting an illegal securities offering when it sold US$100-million of digital tokens in 2017. Story
Ottawa-backed Northleaf venture-capital fund closes at $300-million
Toronto’s Northleaf Capital Partners has closed its third Canadian venture-capital fund at $300-million, just less than a year after it was named as part of Ottawa’s Venture Capital Catalyst Initiative. Story
WHAT WE’RE READING ELSEWHERE
Small business to get help on energy-efficiency upgrades from carbon-tax money
Small businesses in the four provinces with a national carbon price will share $1.4 billion over the next four years to help them reduce their energy use but business owners say they are getting the short end of the rebate stick. Story
Massive tax bills send some Inglewood businesses into an ‘emotional nightmare’
When numerous small businesses in Calgary’s trendy Inglewood neighbourhood opened up their 2019 tax assessment, many wished it was a joke. The reality, many saw an increase between 100 and 300 per cent compared to the year before. Story
Levelling wine playing field next on provincial list
Niagara wine industry representatives are “cautiously optimistic” about Monday’s provincial government announcement regarding ongoing efforts to expand the sale of alcohol into convenience stores and other retailers. Story