Immigrant Entrepreneur Canada Ottawa

by Bruno May 30, 2024

As an immigrant business owner, I attended an event held in Ottawa on Wednesday, May 29th, organized by Immigrant Entrepreneur Canada and Karla Briones.

Two immigrant entrepreneurs shared their stories, discussing the challenges they faced and how they eventually achieved business success.

Karla herself spoke about her journey, starting with a pet service shop. She encountered numerous difficulties along the way, which inspired her to help other immigrants in Canada by offering coaching and guidance.

Later, Joy shared her story of immigrating from China and landing in Ottawa. She studied law in the UK and again in Ottawa, graduating in her 40s. During COVID-19, she opened her law firm because she couldn’t find a job at the time. Despite many challenges, she remained focused on earning her degree and pursuing her career, even when job opportunities were scarce.

Hamed Zadeh immigrated from Iran to Mexico and was later sponsored by a relative to come to Ottawa. He faced numerous challenges and initially worked as a designer. Eventually, he opened his own company and pursued his dream in the creative field. He later expanded into recruitment and opened a printing company. During COVID-19, while many companies were laying off employees, Hamed began manufacturing face masks for hospitals. This initiative allowed him to support his employees and address the challenges posed by the pandemic.

All the entrepreneurs faced similar problems in Canada, where the market initially did not accept them. However, they embraced the challenges, started their businesses, and did their best to survive. In the end, they did not only survive but also succeeded! Very motivational stories were shared yesterday.

Additionally, there was an hour of networking and story-sharing among the attendees, and I had the opportunity to meet several friends from the OneHub Ottawa community.