1. Your thoughts on winning the CanadianSME National Business Award
I still get jitters thinking about that night and the moment my name was called. To say it was unexpected would be an enormous understatement. I feel grateful, blessed, lucky, and most importantly, recognized, and it’s all thanks to the CanadianSME! Being a finalist for a category is recognition enough, and I was elated already to get that, but going ahead to win it was beyond amazing. A lot of founders grind and grind, but never get the accolades or any form of recognition, so to achieve that meant a lot to me. More than words can describe.
I can’t thank the CanadianSME enough for all the work they do behind the scenes, and for looking out for small business owners in their own way. For recognizing all the hard work and creating a space for them to shine. I am more than grateful for everything they’ve done for me, for Ntradex Solutions Inc., and for the many Canadian small businesses out there.
2. A special message or advice to small business owners
My advice is simple: NEVER GIVE UP! Even on days when it feels like all you do means nothing, even when it feels like you’re wasting your time, even when the naysayers tell you, you’ll never make it, NEVER GIVE UP.
I went 2 years straight without taking a paycheque from my company, all while paying the 12 key people on my team. Not because I didn’t need the money, everyone needs money, especially in today’s Canada and with what the economy looks like. But because I wanted Ntradex to succeed, and I believed that my sacrifice would give us a shot at that. I put everything into the company, quite literally, and I was willing to risk it all to see it succeed. It is not easy to do this; it is not a decision I took lightly, but it was one I felt I had to make. Because I believed in what I was doing, and my belief was infectious. My team believed because I believed. So did my family, my mentors, and even our customers etc.
You must NEVER GIVE UP, and perhaps most importantly, you MUST BELIEVE. Believe in yourself first, and believe in what you are building. Your belief and strength of perseverance are all that you need to succeed as an Entrepreneur.
Kalada Sika
Founder and CEO of Ntradex Solutions Inc.
Kalada Sika is an Electrical/Electronic Engineer, turned Software Engineer, then finally turned Entrepreneur. Kalada founded his first company in 2015 in Nigeria, a Technology company that built software solutions for businesses within various sectors. In 2023, on relocating to Canada, he founded Ntradex Solutions Inc., as a response to the growing pains he encountered remitting funds abroad. With Ntradex, his mobile app solution, he simplified cross-border payments and compressed the remittance times from days to minutes for over 3000 immigrants in Canada.
