The World Trade Centre Toronto’s Growth Development Program (GDP) is back with its second cohort starting September 13, 2022. Developed in collaboration with Scotiabank, the program aims to help established, high-potential Canadian companies overcome growth barriers and strengthen their scale-up strategy.
Many successful businesses hit a glass ceiling of growth after reaching revenues of approximately $5M per year. Regardless of industry, the Growth Development Program (GDP) will provide scalable Canadian SMEs with highly practical workshops and mentorship sessions led by the country's top scale-up business experts. In addition, participating companies will graduate with a professionally vetted strategic growth plan and be able to take advantage of the peer-to-peer network of thel World Trade Centre Toronto (WTC-T).
“This year, we successfully launched our Growth Development Program, marking a new milestone towards supporting entrepreneurship in Canada. Through this initiative, we aim to support Canada's scale-up ecosystem, boost sectors vital to its economic growth and drive investments in new technologies that will spur business growth and resilience,” said Leigh Smout, President, World Trade Centre Toronto. “This program is helping Canadian companies to identify gaps in their strategy and navigate growth challenges, while our expert mentors assist them in developing critical scaling-up skills and knowledge."
“Supporting entrepreneurship is at the heart of what we do at Scotiabank, and we are committed to helping small- and medium-sized businesses in Canada reach their full potential,” Scotiabank Senior Vice President Jason Charlebois said. “That is why we are pleased to work with the World Trade Centre Toronto on the development of this new program and to provide Canadian entrepreneurs with the resources and advice they need to overcome challenges and develop a strategic growth strategy."
Canada’s seasoned scale-up business experts, including Michael King, Future Focus President Michael Snyders, Alta Consulting Managing Director Gord Smith, Alta Consulting Sales and Strategy Consulting Manager Abhitej Singh, Toronto Region Board of Trade SVP – Business Development Jennifer Frees, Toronto Region Board of Trade SVP – Communications & Public Affairs Lindsay Broadhead, EDC Account Manager Matthew Abels and Keiretsu Toronto Chapter President Kevin Sterling, will discuss the barriers that entrepreneurs and underrepresented groups face, as well as offer tailored training and mentoring for overcoming them.
The program’s upcoming cohort will run from September to October. Among the topics it will address are:
- Developing Your Growth Mindset
- Maximizing Operational Efficiency
- Optimizing Financial Management and Funding
- Enhancing Leadership Skills to Gear-Up for Growth
LinkedIn, Alta Consulting, BDC, CFO Centre, EDC, Future Focus, Gravity Consulting, Kereitsu, MNP, ProserveIT, Randstad, Rotman School of Management - University of Toronto, Roynat Capital, TWL Law and TMX are some of the partners supporting the program's content.
For an enrolment fee of $1495, participating companies will receive at least $40,000 worth of growth resources and mentoring for their business. To learn more about the Growth Development Program, visit bot.com/gdp.
