Canada Business Talks enables you to grow your company by connecting you with influential Canadian entrepreneurs through the Canada Business Talks series, in association with Cisco, Lenovo, and RBC. Canada Business Talks is for those who want to change how business is done in Canada. This includes business apprentices, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and individuals searching for professional advice and suggestions for managing a successful business. The Canadian Business Talks series, produced in partnership with RBC and UPS, can help small business owners and entrepreneurs reach new heights by connecting them with top Canadian business leaders.
Canadian Business Talks, powered by CanadianSME Magazine’s next guest, is Tareq Hadhad, a Syrian refugee turned entrepreneur who is the CEO of Peace by Chocolate and has an inspiring story of determination to survive a war-torn world and succeed in the opportunities offered by the new land.
The Takeaways from the Canadian Business Talk Series for Small Businesses:
The Canadian Business Talks series engages and exposes small business owners and entrepreneurs to important issues that will help them expand their markets.
- Entrepreneurship during challenging times: The speakers’ experiences, challenges, and strategies will help small business owners understand what it takes to operate successfully in a hard environment. The methods they undertook to face the hardship and what they did to equip the business to face it.
- Making your business resilient for the pandemic and beyond: Small businesses have been severely impacted by the pandemic and are experiencing difficulties regaining their previous status. The presentation will help small businesses learn how to build resilience into their operations and what opportunities and solutions are available to improve their strategic planning.
- Practical strategies to manage your small business: The discussion will educate small businesses on how to manage their business through a tried-and-true path that ensures success and inspires confidence in those who follow the path. Furthermore, it helps them understand how successful business owners develop their plans and strategies for running and managing their enterprises.
Refugee to Entrepreneur: Tareq Hadhad Story
Since his arrival on Canada’s East Coast in 2015 as a Syrian-Canadian newcomer, Tareq Hadhad has been making waves in the entrepreneurial realm.
He is the founder and CEO of Peace by Chocolate, the recipient of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 for the Atlantic. In addition, he was named one of the Top 25 Immigrants in The Maritimes and was selected by Google as the National Hero Case. In 2020, he was awarded RBC’s top Immigrant Award and Entrepreneur of the Year.
Tareq Hadhad has a story to tell of starting a new life with his entrepreneurial family in Nova Scotia after being a Syrian refugee.
Once a displaced Syrian refugee, Tareq shares the feelings and fears that gripped his family and millions more as their home city of Damascus, the oldest city in the world, fell into a bitter and lasting conflict. The stress, inhumanity, and deep sadness that haunted his family during their three years as refugees are punctuated by moments of despair and unthinkable frustration.
In 2012, the Hadhad factory that housed the family’s chocolate-making business was destroyed, which forced them to seek safety. Passionate about peace and entrepreneurship, the family relaunched their business to recreate the chocolates they once exported across the Middle East.
A new life began when Tareq and his family were welcomed to Canada on a community-based sponsorship. Passionate about peace and entrepreneurship, his family relaunched the family business to recreate the chocolates they once exported across the Middle East, turning their story into an inspiring international phenomenon.
From family and happiness to war and heartbreak to a second chance, a Canadian dream came true in January 2020 when Tareq received his official Canadian citizenship, which garnered international attention and has become one of the greatest accomplishments of his life.
Tareq and his family focus on job creation, utilizing a network of local community members and refugees from Nova Scotia and Canada to help support the local economy. Now that their chocolates are distributed across Canada, they look to offer more employment opportunities as their business grows.
Tareq Hadhad was a former medical student at Damascus University and a long-time peacekeeping advocate who joined medical relief efforts after arriving in Lebanon. Tareq has spoken at Amnesty International’s Human Rights Conference, TEDx events, Chambers of Commerce Dinners, keynote presentations in Jamaica, London, Paris, Berlin, and Copenhagen, and several corporate and government organizations in person online.
In addition, he has done over 500 interviews with different news teams across the globe. Tareq speaks about the compelling story of his family, the positive impact of Syrian newcomers, and the spirit of entrepreneurship and giving back.
He has had the privilege of meeting the former President of the United States, Barack Obama, and Canadian Prime Ministers, and has had conversations with many world leaders. There has also been a feature film about the family’s story that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and a best-selling book by Jon Tattrie called Peace by Chocolate.
The journey of Tareq Hadhad to becoming a Canadian, the establishment of a small business with his father, and the outpouring of love and support from his new country are all inspirational.
About CanadianSME
With the aim of contributing to the development of Canada’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s), Cmarketing Inc. is a potential marketing agency and a boutique business management company progressing rapidly in its scope. By acknowledging the firm reliance of the Canadian economy over its SMEs, the agency has resolved to launch a magazine, the pure focus of which will be the furtherance of Canadian SMEs, and to assist their progress with the scheduled token of enlightenment via the magazine’s pertinent content.
Our content acknowledges the strength of the most ardent entrepreneurs and their lifelong experiences in the marketplace that help them build successful business empires. Our belief in productive learning and providing inclusive content is why we have plans for a wide spectrum of activities that incorporate everything from reading to prolific networking.
Tareq Hadhid’s story of perseverance will inspire aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs. For more information about their projects and business operations, visit their website at https://peacebychocolate.ca.
