Newcomers looking to launch businesses in southwestern Manitoba’s largest city now have access to an entrepreneurial incubation space in the heart of downtown.

The team running the Entrepreneur Center at Westman Immigrant Services wants to help newcomers stay and settle in Brandon while growing the region’s economy, says CEO Enver Naidoo.

Fatima Momoh, one of the hub’s clients, moved from Nigeria in 2021 to build a life in Brandon as a skilled worker. A friend recommended she connect with Westman Immigrant Services, and the agency helped make Brandon feel at home, she said.

Now, she supports the next step in her journey – growing Alizaf Care, her personalized home care business. She came to the hub with an idea and a plan, which the team helped develop.

Now, Momoh is her own boss and can use her decades of experience in caring for the elderly and others while making time for her family.

“They understood what I wanted, they took me by the hand, they gave me all the support,” Momoh said. “If you have business ideas…want to learn something new and all that. They’ll be a big help.”

The hub has officially been operating for a few months at 902 Rosser Ave., but part of the office has been operational for about a year.

It secured more than $1 million in federal funding over three years for the project.

So far, the hub has already connected with more than 100 customers like Momoh. Naidoo says immigrant entrepreneurs need extra support and resources because of the unique challenges they face in a new community.

Hannah Stollery, community outreach manager for Westman Immigrant Services, says the program generally sees two different types of clients: those who come with capital and those who don’t.

A team of four entrepreneurship coordinators connect with people and find out what help they need, whether they are developing an idea or growing an already established business, to help both the entrepreneur and the local economy thrive.

“If we’re not able to help them find a way to promote these ideas in our communities, it’s going to be a missed opportunity,” she said.

Local mentors

Hub customers have access to 14 local mentors to help them navigate the business world and learn about opportunities like funding.

“They need that support … navigating, starting a business, getting those permits,” Stollery said. “Anything to open those doors.”

Now that it’s fully open, the hub offers regular training workshops covering topics like marketing, what it takes to start a business and getting financing, Stollery said. Those networking opportunities allow entrepreneurs to learn from each other and bounce ideas around, she said.

They also provide a chance to talk about the hurdles of starting and maintaining a business. The center makes a lot of external referrals to other resources for education, licensing and regulations, Stollery said.

Westman Immigrant Services will measure the success of the program by looking at the number of businesses that start and how they grow, Naidoo said. It will also look at economic growth in the city and whether overall worker retention is improving.

The agency is working with Brandon University’s Rural Development Institute to track those goals and learn where services can be improved, Naidoo said.

Descending from the ground

Svetlana Maltseve, who found out about the hub through word of mouth, says it was the spark she needed to start her chocolate and candy business, Trueffeels, in September.

Maltseve moved to Brandon 20 years ago, but never tried to pursue his dream because “he didn’t have any help.”

Now, she is learning to navigate the business world from the center’s team.

She creates her chocolates from a local commercial kitchen—a connection she made through the center—and brings her truffles to share with other entrepreneurs in the space to voice their opinion about her product.

“I love doing this… I see people’s emotions when I bring them this happiness,” she said. “It’s not just a candy, it’s not just a chocolate. It’s an emotion…wrapped in that chocolate.”

Momoh also attends workshops at the new downtown space, including a recent one focused on social marketing and social media.

Those workshops are like a road map that will hopefully lead to her ultimate goal of one day opening her own nursing home.

“I am grateful to Westman Immigrant Services,” she said. “Helping immigrants like me come, settle properly, and all of that has been very supportive.”

Because of that support, “I didn’t miss home,” she said. “I’m consistently getting the support I’d like.”