Business without Borders interviews Rana Sarkar, Executive officer of the
Canada-India Business Council.
Sarkar discusses the expansion of Canadian companies to India and why
this means opportunities for growth and innovation for Canadian
businesses. An excerpt from the interview:
"What is the appeal of the Indian market to Canadian businesses?"
"There
are two drivers of interest in India – market access and innovation.
It's becoming clear that, despite how well we've done relative to our
OECD peers coming out of the great recession, the key to Canada's 21st
century prosperity is diversification. Not because we're betting
against the U.S., but we recognize the rise of the rest. The big
markets of scale and the ones offering stable growth in our lifetimes
will be in India, China, Brazil, with a number of other high-growth
emerging countries not far behind. These countries are adding millions
to the middle class every month and will bring billions of people into
cities and into the global economy in the next decade. They're building
infrastructure in years that it took centuries to build elsewhere.
India is particularly interesting for Canadians because it's growing at
8 to 10 per cent a year largely off the back of domestic consumer
demand – not government."
"Many people, when they consider
India, think of sending back-office functions offshore, or using
low-cost labour or supplies.The second reason Canadian companies are
looking at India is low-cost innovation, but in my view the India story
has evolved well past the back-office outsourcing. It's now about the
Tata Nano, the $100 iPad equivalent, medical devices at 10 per cent of
cost. Canadian companies are following this story closely and are
starting to get involved with Indian companies if just not to be left
out. Our mindset with India is also starting to change. A decade ago, a
Canadian CEO would step off a plane in Delhi and see problems; now they
see opportunity, and often an international competitor at the check-in
desk. India has also gotten a bit easier for us. Its government and
business class is more global in outlook and it stands out amongst the
big emerging players as a democratic, English-speaking,
common-law-based market where we can drop in and do business without a
translator."
"So you are seeing more interest from Canadian businesses that want to expand there?"
"Definitely.
A decade ago India was far from front-of-mind for Canadian business
leaders, for a bunch of good reasons; India wasn't there yet, and, more
importantly, you could get fatter returns in less complex markets
closer to home. Even then there were trailblazers – Sun Life,
Bombardier, Scotiabank and the EDC have been established in India for
decades. Law firms like Bennett Jones, Torys and Heenan Blaikie have
spent years building A-grade networks and are now key connectors. But
in recent months, we're seeing a dramatic uptick in interest. Cameco,
AECL and the rest of the nuclear supply chain are moving into the
market now that we have the nuclear agreement in place. In technology,
RIM and Open Text are becoming key players. Brookfield, the CPP and CDP
have all made investments, and BMO has established a strong India
practice. Like in any big market, seeding relationships and building
granular market understanding takes years of effort, and the bulk of
corporate Canada is at the beginning stages, but if they stick to the
strategy this will pay dividends in the high-growth years ahead."
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