Good connections lead to good opportunities

It’s out of that premise that the Connectors’ Club was conceived. By facilitating connections between well connected people, who have Manitoba near and dear to their heart, we can make good things happen for businesses here in Manitoba and throughout the world.

The World Trade Centre Winnipeg seeks to grow trade for Manitoba businesses and constantly receives request for assistance in finding information, contacts and resources locally and internationally. By sharing these requests with Connectors’ Club Members, connections can be made and business ideas and projects can develop into successful business ventures.

Find out more:

1. Be a Connector: become a member of the Connectors’ Club
2. Seeking a connection: can the Connectors’ Club help?
3. Let’s Celebrate all of the connections made via the Connectors’ Club!
4. Case Study

Join the club now

Still have questions about the Club? Check out our list of Frequently Asked Questions or Contact Us.

Be a connector

Who are Connectors’ Club Members?

You have a special place in your heart for Manitoba:

• You live here now but maybe you lived abroad for a while and still have good friends and business contacts there.
• You may be a new-Manitoban and have a great network of contacts back home.
• You came to Manitoba for a short time to study, work or for business and now have a special connection to this province.

Regardless, you know there’s something unique about Manitoba and the way we help each other by making the right introductions at the right time. As well, building bridges and connecting people is part of your DNA. With the help of the WTC Winnipeg we can make connections, locally, nationally and internationally.

JOIN THE CLUB

How it works

• We (the WTC Winnipeg) receive a request for assistance in finding a connection relating to a business idea*.
• We send an email to the Connectors’ Club Members with a brief outline of the connection sought (a summary of the opportunity, the type of connection, the sector and geography),
• If someone in your network might be able to help with that request, you put us in touch.
• We do the rest – it’s that simple!

Still have questions? Please see our FAQs or Contact Us.

*We know maintaining your good reputation within your network is important so we will screen every request.

Seeking a connection

Are you seeking a business connection within Manitoba or internationally? Contact us and tell us what it is you’re seeking.

We are engaged to assist you by first using all of the tools at our disposal, including our family of World Trade Centres throughout the world, members and networks (such as the Canadian Trade Commission Service, Foreign Trade Commissioners and other international trade agencies).

Where a personal connection or introduction could help open a door, we will send information regarding your request to the Connectors’ Club Members, requesting their assistance in identifying a connection who may be able to assist you with your request.

We will only discuss non-confidential details while we help set up the connection and will keep you informed of any potential leads generated. We will also assist in ensuring your request is satisfied.

Celebrate

We look forward to celebrating all of the connections made through the Connectors’ Club.

Each year, we will organise an event that will seek to recap the events of the past year. These events will also be a great opportunity to connect with other Connectors, share ideas and experiences.

You know how to identify other natural Connectors, so please invite them to this celebration! Hopefully they will decide to join the club and grow our family.

Case Study

Tom runs a farm implement manufacturing company in Manitoba. He’s been developing a new product and just discovered it has great potential for the Colombian market. Due to stringent regulations, however, the product must be adapted for that market. The challenge is, Tom doesn’t know anyone in Colombia. Tom desperately needs someone with an engineering background, and experience in Colombia who can help him adapt his product to that market.

Tom reaches out to the Connectors’ Club for help. At the World Trade Centre Winnipeg (WTC Winnipeg), Alberto speaks with Tom to further understand his needs. Alberto determines that the project is genuine and approaches members of the WTC Winnipeg’s network for assistance with his request. Unfortunately, that does not give rise to any results. Next, the WTC Winnipeg sends out a message to the Connectors’ Club members asking them to identify, within their networks, individuals who may be able to assist.

As a Connectors’ Club member, you receive this message, which indicates:

Summary:
Manitoba company seeks individual with engineering background to assist in adapting farm equipment for the Colombian market

Type of connection sought:
Consultant, engineering background

Sector:
Agriculture

Geography:
Colombia

It just so happens your sister-in-law Lisa is an engineer and worked in Colombia a few years ago! You contact the WTC Winnipeg and let us know. We have a brief conversation to share some of the non-confidential project details, and then you then introduce us, via email or telephone, to Lisa.

We then share details of the project with Lisa, who is interested and thinks there is a good fit. We connect Tom and Lisa, who determine there is a good fit and enter an agreement.

The WTC Winnipeg further supports Tom with his Colombian initiative, and because we know your connection with Lisa is important, we keep you informed on the development of the opportunity.

Two years later, thanks to Tom’s ingenuity and Lisa’s help, the product is successfully launched in Colombia! Thanks to you and the Connectors’ Club, Tom’s company has grown, the Manitoba economy has strengthened and Colombia has benefited from a new technology!

*Fictitious case for information/illustration purposes only.