For more than 40 years, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) has offered settlement and integration services to newcomers to southern Alberta. In 2022, it launched a federally funded program to support and encourage entrepreneurship in permanent residents and refugees. The Build Your Business program offers a free 10-week, 300-hour course that provides valuable information about starting and running a business, and it gives participants the tools to hone their skills while creating important connections in the business world.
Bibiana Cala is the perfect person to act as coordinator of the program. She came to Canada in 2008 and opened her first business in 2011, so she knows the challenges firsthand and can help future entrepreneurs overcome or avoid them.
“I had to figure it all out myself,” says Cala. “I always thought we needed a good program from the beginning to make things easier for people. Since day one of the program, I’ve been figuring out who is doing what in the city to see how we can collaborate and how they can help my clients. That’s why I collaborate with a lot of partners.”
She has cultivated a network of professionals in areas like tax, law, finance, technology and marketing so entrepreneurs have all they need to kickstart their entrepreneurial journey. Participants attend classroom sessions, one-on-one mentoring and networking at in-house events as well as out in the community, and by the end of the program they have the confidence, knowledge and support system in place to launch their businesses. Cala’s team follows up with the more than 150 graduates regularly to check progress and offer support, and she’s proud that nearly 40 per cent have started their businesses across various sectors.
Personal growth and mental health are fundamental components of this unique program and these elements have contributed significantly to the entrepreneurs’ success after graduation. Build Your Business explores who these entrepreneurs are and what they love to do so they can create a business that monetizes those passions.
“We focus a lot on personal development, not just business. People are building their lives, with a new language in a new place and on top of it are opening a business. It’s a lot,” she says.
With the ongoing support of the network built into CCIS’s entrepreneurship program, these newcomers are equipped to meet the challenges and make their dreams of running a business come true in their new country.