Immigrants sell goods, develop entrepreneurial skills at Halifax market

A monthly market in Halifax is giving immigrants and newcomers to Canada an opportunity to grow their entrepreneurial skills together in what’s described as a supportive environment.

The African Community Investment Cooperative of Canada (ACICC) hosts what’s titled the international market.

“They are learning to negotiate, to do invoicing, and so they’re learning business in practice, and they’re also learning English at the same time, so this is a way of some kind of integration into the society — into the business community, actually,” Ngozi Otti, executive director of the AICC, said at the event on Sunday.

Vendors sold goods, such as food and clothing, that are popular in their birth countries.

The ACICC was created to help newcomers and immigrants who may feel overwhelmed trying to establish a home-based or small business, she said.

The not-for-profit social enterprise has a commercial kitchen and industrial sewing facilities. It also helps participants complete food handling training.

The market, which is located at 344 Herring Cove Rd., is open every last Sunday of the month between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The first event happened in December 2017.

The focus was initially on people of African descent, but the organization now welcomes other newcomers and immigrants. It also accepts people with “established barriers,” including seniors, people with disabilities, and young people.

“It’s a way of promoting diversity and unity,” Otti, who is also a coordinator of the event, said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's a way of promoting diversity and unity," Otti, who is also a coordinator of the event, said.

Vendors who participated on Sunday included people originally from Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda.

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Subashini Katta, founder of Ingva Collections, had a booth at the event.

She said she wanted jewelry that was eco-friendly and lightweight, so she started creating hand-painted pieces made of paper and now monetizes them.

“This is my passion. This is what I loved to do,” she said. “Every time I try to put across my ideas, and you see the result of it, it just makes me jump all around.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This is my passion. This is what I loved to do," she said. "Every time I try to put across my ideas, and you see the result of it, it just makes me jump all around."

Adline Dias, another vendor, is part of Mad Over Goa, which specializes in Goan cuisine.

“We really don’t have the capital to start a restaurant right away, and we also have to test the waters, so no better place than this,” she said.

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Otti said she wants participants to feel safe and confident to sell things to people, even if they don’t understand English yet. Interpreters are available at the market.

“If someone doesn’t understand you, it becomes your responsibility to help the person understand you because understanding is a two-way thing,” she said.

The space can accommodate only 10 to 15 vendors. The number of vendors has grown to 25 vendors, so they have to rotate the time they get to participate.

The hope is to turn the market into a weekly event, Otti said.