SLOW PROGRESS
Newcomer says building a business can be challenging.
A businessman who moved to the Island two years ago says P.E.I. is a good place to live with lots of kind people, but it’s a challenging place to build a small business.
Manouchehr Alkhorshid and his wife Marzen Yazdiayn moved to Stratford from Iran in 2016, and started their marketing, exporting and importing business Occidental Chain.
Alkhorshid, who was selling imported Persian rugs at the DiverseCity Spring Showcase in Stratford on Saturday, said growing his business hasn’t been easy.
“We started marketing for some products of Canada to export to the Middle East, such as blueberry juice and canola oil, and we hope to find good sources to export these items,” he said.
Small businesses faces challenges here because they can’t compete with bigger chains, said Alkhorshid, adding that if he wants to talk business with one of the bigger stores, he is told he has to speak with the company’s headquarters, rather than owner to owner.
“This is a big challenge for us,” he said, adding the head offices tend to be located in bigger centres like Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
“I hope we find and improve our business here to stay living in P.E.I.”
Alkhorshid and Yazdiayn are two of thousands of immigrants who call P.E.I. home.
In an effort to help newcomers to the Island, the P.E.I. Association for Newcomers to Canada held the first DiverseCity Spring Showcase in Stratford on Saturday.
The event goes hand-in-hand with the association’s annual summer DiverseCity Multicultural Street Festivals, and was a good opportunity for festivals manager Mark Carr-Rollitt to find performers for the three summer events.
The purpose for Saturday’s event was also to give Stratford residents and visitors a taste of what’s to come this summer, and to raise funds to help support the festivals, and included food, music, items for sale, a fundraising auction and a 50/50 draw.
The DiverseCity festivals are about culture sharing, CarrRollitt said.
“DiverseCity is really about connecting newcomers with established Islanders. I guess at the end of the day, we’re all newcomers one way or another.”
The summer festivals have been growing in popularity since its Victoria Row debut in 2007, with last year’s three events totaling about 30,000 patrons, Carr-Rollitt said, adding he encourages everyone to check out the free, familyfriendly multicultural festivals this summer.
“There are amazing interactions, the vibe is awesome. It’s a good time.”