The Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont (VELP) regional branches of Confindustria, the General Confederation of Italian Industrialists and the Italian Trade Agency’s Toronto and Montreal offices are embarking on a year-long project to assist Italian SMEs to learn about business opportunities and  find commercial partners in Canada.

The VELP Regions are the four most dynamic economies within Italy and have strong trade ties with Canada.  Almost 70% of Italy's exports to Canada in 2019 originated from the  Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont regions. In the past 10 years, VELP exports to Canada more than doubled: +124% in 2019 compared to those in  2009 with machinery and industrial equipment representing more than ¼ of the region's exports to Canada.  Despite these encouraging figures, there are plenty of Italian companies that are unaware of Canada’s potential as an export market and an investment destination.    

The Confindustria - Italian Trade Agency program kicked off in 2021 with the recruitment, selection and training for the participating Italian companies and will continue throughout 2022 with business scouting, b2b meetings with Canadian counterparts and trade missions to Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Lombardy and Piedmont.  

For further information on the initiative, to connect with the Italian companies from the VELP Regions in Italy, please visit www.velp.digital.ice.it or contact  toronto [at] ice.it ?subject=Machines%20Italia%20Newsletter">toronto [at] ice.it