Yesterday’s meetings started early with a breakfast with Halo Digital, a global Internet Service Provider (ISP) with branches in 8 countries around the Globe. Their Brazilian country manager, Moancyr, is strongly considering expansion into the GTA and was very interested in our IT and digital media sector in Mississauga.
With Moancyr Alves of Halo Digital for breakfast.
With Moancyr Alves of Halo Digital for breakfast.
Mississauga is home to the top three Information Communication Technology (ICT) companies in Canada, including Microsoft and Oracle. With over 50,000 employed in the sector, as well as over 23,000 students enrolled in over 217 digital media and IT programs at our GTA colleges and universities, Mississauga and the wider region, are incredibly attractive for investment by companies like Halo Digital.
The positive feedback and interest we received from Halo Digital was echoed by ABRADI, a non-profit organization representing the interests of over 100 of Sao Paulo’s digital agencies. I had the pleasure of speaking about the merits of Mississauga and the GTA to a group of these businesses at the Canadian Consulate, where I was joined by Ontario’s trade representative in Brazil, Todd Barrett.
Meeting with ABRADI about investing in the GTA and Mississauga, as well as discussion our robust ICT and digital media sector.
Meeting with ABRADI about investing in the GTA and Mississauga, as well as discussion our robust ICT and digital media sector.
Staying in the ICT sector, we joined Gladis Orsi Confort of Stefanini, one of Brazil’s largest IT consulting firms. They recently announced they will be opening an R&D facility in the GTA and it is my hope that through meetings like the one today, we will convince them of the benefits of locating in Mississauga. Following this productive meeting, the team met with two digital gaming companies with great interest in the GTA.
Our day concluded with a productive meeting with Ricardo Henriques, the Business Director of Overfix, a company that provides environmental products and solutions. Through the work of the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance and our talented staff in Mississauga’s Economic Development Office, Ricardo informed us that he will be moving to expand his business in Mississauga before the end of the year. We are pleased to welcome Overfix and will continue to work with Ricardo and his team to grow his business in Mississauga.
With Ricardo Henriques of Overfix.
What has become clear is that the more we discuss the GTA, the more interest we generate. However, in discussing Mississauga, our City stands out as a leader and a great place to locate an expanding business. Our high quality of life, geographic position, strong governance and competitive corporate tax environment, along with our many successful businesses are providing Brazilian companies with an attractive location to expand their business. We have recently been named one of the Top 10 cities in the Americas for foreign direct investment; the number 3 city for connectivity; the number 4 city for business friendliness; and the number 5 city for our foreign-direct investment strategy.
The more I talk about Mississauga, the more proud I am of our City. We are poised to continue to grow and compete in the global marketplace and investment missions like this one are helping us to spread our positive message to new and growing markets. Here’s a great video full of testimonials from Mississauga business leaders talking about Mississauga’s attributes: