Immigrant-led startup, Scale Without Borders, hosts the largest summit for immigrants in tech

TORONTO, Nov. 10, 2022 /CNW/ -The Honourable Sean Fraser Minister of Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has just announced a plan to welcome 500,000 newcomers per year by 2025. With their arrival, newcomers need a powerful ecosystem to help them break into and succeed in tech.

Canada's leading platform for immigrants in tech, Scale Without Borders, is hosting its annual summit, the largest event for immigrants and newcomers in tech in Toronto on November 15th and virtually on November 16th 2022.

This is timely with the IRCC's recent announcement to welcome about 500,000 newcomers per year until 2025, as part of a larger effort to address labour shortages and fuel economic growth. Newcomers, however, have long faced barriers in landing employment that honours their skill level and qualifications. This is particularly amplified during labour market shifts, such as the uncertain period the tech industry is currently undergoing.

"Newcomers face barriers in tech, ranging from lack of access to networks, cultural barriers, lack of correct job hunting strategies and bias from Canadian employers." says Nouhaila Chelkhaoui, Founder & CEO of Scale Without Borders, an immigrant herself from Morocco, who was named one of Canada's 36 Women of the Year by the Bay Street Bull.

This is why Scale without Borders (SWB), an immigrant-led startup that helps newcomers find tech jobs, and employers hire newcomer tech talent, is hosting its annual summit expecting thousands of newcomers and immigrants, tech leaders, employers, and corporate executives to join on November 15th and 16th, 2022. With day 1 hosted in person at the Toronto Design Exchange and Day 2 hosted virtually, the SWB Immigrants in Tech Summit has curated a program of high impact content, inspiring talks from notable immigrant leaders, interactive sessions, and both in person and virtual relationship building with employers, peers, and allies.

Scale Without Borders has collaborated with partners across sectors and of various sizes to bring the Immigrants in Tech Summit experience to newcomers and the tech community. Corporate partners including CIBC, Tim Hortons, or Desjardins clearly see the value of hiring newcomer tech talent. 

Victor Dodig, President and CEO of CIBC, and the son of refugees, has prioritized making inclusion a cornerstone of the bank, with a workforce and leadership team reflecting the clients and communities they serve. According to Victor, "when you embrace diversity, you gain insight into your clients' thinking, you develop better relationships, and you build a better company." But beyond driving an equitable experience at CIBC, Victor is advocating for national reform on Canada's newcomer experience, wanting to ensure that "when immigrants arrive, they can thrive and participate fully in society and the economy."

In addition to corporate partners, Scale Without Borders is also collaborating on this with tech leaders like the DMZ, TECHNATION Canada and Magnet, high growth startups like Appficiency, colleges and universities including Humber College and York University (Internationally Educated Professionals Bridging Programs) as well as established settlement agencies like Acces Employment and the Immigrant Employment Council of British Columbia (IEC-BC) FAST (Facilitating Access to Skilled Talent) program.

The summit will feature distinguished speakers including Syrian-Canadian entrepreneur Tareq Hadhad, Founder & CEO of Peace by Chocolate, a business his family built from scratch upon coming to Canada as a refugee after his family business, a chocolate factory, and family home were bombed in Damascus, Syria. Tareq's story is also the subject of the book & film "Peace by Chocolate", recently featured at the Toronto International Film Festival and has won several awards and accolades. 

Notable speakers also include immigrant leaders CEO & President of Laurentian Bank, Rania Llewellyn, the first woman to ever to lead a major Canadian chartered bank, and Jeanne Lam, the first President of world renowned Canadian tech company and storytelling platform, Wattpad. .

Attendees may sign up for free for the virtual summit, or join in person for a subsidized cost, here.

SOURCE Scale Without Borders

please contact Founder & CEO Nouhaila Chelkhaoui at [email protected] or 416 912 1650.