After the global pandemic, the world will not be the same. The global economy is going to change and billion-dollar companies are ready to change everything. US, UK, and EU companies are ready to take manufacturing from China to other countries. Donald Trump asks local companies to focus on different states, but many giant companies in the tech industry are willing to close offices in China and establish their business in Canada or African countries. Nigeria has to be ready for global market changes and the government should send offers to China-based tech companies for establishment. Canada’s government already took the action and has offered many tech-giants to have a safe place in Toronto and Montreal. Nigeria’s government should replicate the successful blueprint from Canada.
Canada is becoming one of the most attractive places for billion-dollar tech companies and start-ups. In recent years, it has attracted many of the most successful technology companies in the world. One is Deep Genomics, a genetics medicine company that makes use of artificial intelligence to find a cure for rare genetic diseases. When they first thought of the idea, Canada was not ready for their developments, but after a few years, they welcomed the idea of setting up a lab in Toronto.
Canada is preparing for ‘best chance’ from 2017
Justin Trudeau became the leader of the country in 2016. As soon as he became the prime minister, the government decided to start focusing on technologies, 5G, and the crypto revolution. Justin Trudeau decided to focus on the digital economy as he believes that the digital industry would run the world’s economy in the next decade. All the companies are welcome in Canada with a very liberal law and tech-ready guidelines. Canada’s government has created a tech roadmap for Canadian companies. Trudeau’s team is implementing a roadmap in every 3-5 years. With the help of a digital roadmap, many online industries transformed and increased the revenue, therefore, the contribution to the economy. iGaming space was first to get many benefits from the digital roadmap. After the start of the first cycle, online casino companies increased their reputation due to the government’s decisions. First of all, Trudeau’s team allowed online casinos to offer international players games of different-genre. International gamers can play the best online slots and roulette on the same website. It’s a big advantage for gamers who love managing online games in one spot. The Bitcoin revolution was another decision that helped iGaming space to flourish and grow exponentially. Online casinos have contributed up to 20 billion CA dollars in 2019 and it happened because of the government’s liberal decisions. The Crypto revolution was a big benefit not only for iGaming but also for tech and shopping companies based in Canada. The Bitcoin revolution has been the biggest benefit for Shopify and other online shopping companies. Experts believe that Shopify will be the main competitor of Amazon and eBay in a few years. Due to the liberal legal framework, Canada offers safe places to business giants.
The lever is the first successful example of Canada’s strategy to obtain US-EU companies
Lever, a software company that uses analytics to match clients with potential hires, became attracted to Toronto. They brought their business to Toronto to service clients that were on the East Coast of the USA. Why Toronto?
Lever wanted to be near Toronto’s newly acclaimed technology sector. CBRE Group, a US-based real estate, and investment firm confirmed in its Tech Talent Report that Toronto had become North America’s very own Silicon Valley. But one of the characteristics that genuinely attracted Lever to Canada is its diversity and inclusion. They could hire from the budding talents locally that were guided by the technological universities Canada is known. Canada has also opened its immigration to powerhouse talents and welcomes them to the country, and businesses can hire as well from other countries.
However, what’s genuinely making Canada so attractive to investors and tech companies is their bold move to provide principles guidelines on how everyone should utilize and share digital information. These are principles that businesses, governments, and citizens must follow. Canada’s Digital Charter promotes trust, safety and security, and fairness between companies and citizens, and the government.
The Charter also highlights a precious piece of agreement that the Government of Canada will encourage businesses in all sectors to embrace technology to help them compete and progress in today’s digital world. Apart from this, the promise of transparency allowed Canadians to warm up to the Tech Industry. These principles would create a symbiotic relationship between government, people, and businesses. However, this would only be effective if this is a legal document.
This Charter, although not legal, has given Canadian a sense of peace that they are protected and that their information would not be shared. The challenge now is on businesses on how they will respect this Charter and follow it. Companies are known to be notorious and demanding to have access to personal information of their users.
Still, with this charter model, businesses are being challenged to be creative and more innovative on how they can improve their services without compromising trust. When Canada’s Digital Charter becomes legal, many businesses will be affected if they violate any of the principles. When a company complies, perhaps an incentive will be provided. However, when found to have violated, financial consequences may also take effect.
The Canadian government knows what to do and how to do it. However, their lack of a healthy muscle to implement the Digital Charter and make it into a legal document can be worrisome. With or without the Digital Charter, Canada would still be attracting more business start-ups and tech companies, because of its value placed on inclusivity and diversity.