WTC Winnipeg's Podcast - BDC Small Business Week

From the rise of e-commerce and dealing with uncertainty to the ever-present labour shortage, discover some of the major trends that are shaping growth opportunities in Canada. Mariette and her guest Jonny Loewen also share tools available to small businesses in Manitoba through BDC’s Winnipeg Business Centre.

Host: Mariette Mulaire, President and CEO, World Trade Centre Winnipeg

Guest: Jonny Loewen, Manager, Winnipeg Business Centrce, Business Development Bank of Canada

With a greater focus on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion in the workplace, soft skills are becoming essential skills. EI Advantage, a Manitoba company that helps clients around the world with their coaching and training needs, discusses the importance of investing in people and how developing our emotional intelligence can contribute to a more inclusive work environment.

Host: Mariette Mulaire, President and CEO, World Trade Centre Winnipeg
Co-Host: Camille Bardy, Trade Advisor, World Trade Centre Winnipeg
Guest: Janice Gair, Co-founder, EI Advantage

Avec son poulailler robotisé tout-en-un, Ukkö Robotics améliore non seulement la qualité des producteurs et de leurs animaux, mais aussi la qualité des sols. Découvrez l'esprit inventif d'une entreprise manitobaine qui s'apprête à révolutionner l'élevage en Amérique du Nord et à rendre l'agriculture régénérative plus accessible.

Animatrice : Mariette Mulaire, Présidente-Directrice Générale, World Trade Centre Winnipeg

Co-animatrice : Carole Freynet-Gagné, Vice-présidente, conseil d’administration du World Trade Centre Winnipeg

Invités : Daniel Badiou and Katrina Jean-Laflamme, Co-fondateurs de Ukkö Robotics

With their all-in-one robotic chicken coop, Ukkö Robotics is not only improving the quality of life of farmers and their livestock, but also soil quality. Discover the inventive spirit behind a Manitoba company that is set to revolutionize livestock farming across North America and make regenerative farming more accessible. 

Host: Mariette Mulaire, President and CEO, World Trade Centre Winnipeg

Co-Host: Fiona Webster-Mourant, Co-chair, World Trade Centre Winnipeg board of directors

Guests: Daniel Badiou and Katrina Jean-Laflamme, Co-founders of Ukkö Robotics

D'ambassadrice du Canada en France à ambassadrice des petites et moyennes entreprises à BDC, Isabelle Hudon révèle les thèmes de la Semaine de la PME de cette année, discute de l'importance de l'entrepreneuriat et du fait que l'adversité a tendance à nous pousser vers des résultats inattendus et souvent positifs.

Animatrice : Mariette Mulaire, Présidente-Directrice Générale, World Trade Centre Winnipeg

Co-animatrice : Carole Freynet-Gagné, Vice présidente, World Trade Centre Winnipeg, entrepreneure

Invitée : Isabelle Hudon, Présidente-Directrice Générale, Banque de développement du Canada

From Canada’s Ambassador to France to becoming an ambassador for small and medium-sized business at BDC, Isabelle Hudon discusses this year’s Small Business Week themes, talks about the importance of entrepreneurship and how adversity has a way of nudging us towards unexpected and often positive outcomes. 

Host: Mariette Mulaire, President and CEO, World Trade Centre Winnipeg

Guest: Isabelle Hudon, President and CEO, Business Development Bank of Canada

With four guys, a trailer and a truck, this Manitoba business went from the garage to the globe in just 15 years. Sharing their inspiring story and key ingredients to their success, the co-founders of Titan Environmental Containment show us that better outcomes for the planet and business ARE possible. 

Host: Mariette Mulaire, President and CEO, World Trade Centre Winnipeg

Co-Host: Derek Earl, Vice president, World Trade Centre Winnipeg

Guest: Brett Burkard and Kelly Sitarz, Co-founders of Titan Environmental Containment inc.

In this episode, Chris Johnson, Co-founder and CEO of Permission Click discusses with Mariette Mulaire and Joelle Foster about how his company helps schools around the world to automate forms and workflows and establish a digital audit trail. With over 50 countries served so far, their goal was to make sure their program could just as easily be used in regions such as the United States and the Middle East as it is locally. 

Permission Click primarily serves the education market for schools from Kindergarten to Grade 12. After the idea stemmed from participating in one of North Forge’s Ramp Up weekends, Chris knew that there was a problem to be solved. Since launching the company, their product offering has grown from permission forms to a full program that can be used at various degrees in schools and to improve time efficiency in administrative tasks. 

In this episode, Ketaki Ogale, owner and co-founder of BHyve, spoke with Mariette Mulaire and Joelle Foster about their peer learning platform that she believes will innovate how skills and knowledge are exchanged in the workplace. She explains how knowledge can be lost in an organization if it is not necessarily part of their job description, and that is why she and her co-founder set out to resolve this issue. 

BHyve is a gamified peer-learning platform that is at the intersection of online learning and human resources products that are meant for engagement. They aim to help companies see meaningful interactions between their staff while creating a space to share proficiencies. 

In this episode, Dan Belhassen, president of Neovation, spoke with Mariette Mulaire and Joelle Foster about how his learning and development company helps other businesses understand and retain information. Through Ottolearn, their software is customized for their clients by identifying where employees lack familiarity and focuses on those knowledge gaps for a couple minutes a day. Dan describes how this microlearning method leads to more effective long-term retention of information. 

Neovation launched in 2012 and has been recognized as one of the top growing companies in Canada by both The Globe and Mail, and Canada Business Magazine. Neovation is able to work with companies as they become more conscious of how they can improve their knowledge management.