BCBusiness

34 BCBUSINESS SEPTEMBER 2017 E X P OR T N AV IG AT OR This Small Business BC pilot program is your first stop, but it's also helpful as you grow your business. Export specialists based in six communities take a personalized, step-by-step approach to international trade. Among their services: export readiness assessment and market entry strategy support. T R A DE A ND IN V E S T BC Once you've done your market research, Trade and Invest BC can connect you to trade experts, contacts and potential clients abroad—plus it offers investment advice, trade mis- sions and seminars. BC C H A M BE R OF C O M M E RC E The BC Chamber's services include verifying certificates of origin for goods being shipped. Many local chambers of com- merce and boards of trade also have export-related offerings; the Surrey Board of Trade does global business matchmaking. #TradeTalks, the BC Chamber's annual provincial forum, helps companies raise their export game by connecting them with experts and other resources. E X P O R T DE V E L OP M E N T C A N A DA (E DC) A Crown corporation, EDC provides Canadian exporters with trade financing, export credit insurance and bonding services, and foreign market expertise. Its website includes industry-specific information and country profiles. GL OB A L A F FA I R S C A N A DA This federal agency's CanExport program gives financial assis tance to small and medium- sized businesses. For those ready to export, the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service has representatives in 161 cities worldwide who can share local knowledge and practical advice on foreign markets. O ne day in June 2014, Raj Bhangu got o a plane in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The vice-president, business development, of Vancouver-based mobile software developer AirG was there on a trade mission to meet with executives of cel- lular service providers. As he waited for his luggage, he saw a billboard advertis- ing a one-terabyte (1,000- gigabyte) data plan—about 100 times what a typical family plan oers in Canada. "That's nuts!" Bhangu said. "Who uses one terabyte a month?" A lot of people, he was about to learn. Although his company already oered its packages, including games, chat rooms and dating sites, in North America, Western Europe, Latin America and parts of Africa, Bhangu had been a bit intimi- dated by the cultural barriers of the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is led by an Islamic dicta- torship with religious police enforcing ultraconservative laws on all manner of public behaviour, including dress codes, a ban on women driving, strict separation of the sexes, and attendance at prayer •ve times a day. After encouragement from VP Brian Roberts at Vancouver's Wavefront, which helps startups in the wireless industry with development, growth and building international ties, Bhangu decided to join a trip with a handful of others. The billboard told him he'd made the right decision. "Here's the reason that games do really well in Saudi Arabia," he says. "There's no movie theatres, no Net˜ix, no Apple TV, no porn, no alcohol. There's nothing else to do." Since its founding by Frederick Ghahramani in 2000, BC Chamber of Commerce member AirG has done well at providing things to do. It now employs about 130 people in its Vancouver o›ce and counts more than 100 million regis- tered users in 135 countries. But Bhangu was right about the cultural barri- ers. At the •rst meeting in Riyadh, an awkward moment arose when the Canadian consular represen- tative, a woman, extended her hand to an executive of one of the Saudi compa- nies, who refused to touch her. Bhangu was oering a package of 1,000 games available by subscription, and he'd done an unusual amount of preparation. All of his presentations had to be wiped clean of references to AirG's chat or dating sites, or any suggestive words like "single." The trade mission resulted in deals with several cellphone operators in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. First, however, the games needed work. The company hired a Lebanese woman who spoke Arabic to vet them. One in particular, Big Barn World, had to be entirely redesigned. It's a social farming experience in which players can buy To offer its mobile games to customers in Saudi Arabia, tech firm AirG needed to adapt Middle Ground Whether you're export-ready or planning to take the plunge, these groups and agencies have your back GAME CHANGER AirG's Raj Bhangu found a new market in the Middle East

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