Mario Escoto Damas arrived in Canada to expand his family’s business. Now the Honduras-born entrepreneur is helping other newcomers develop their own businesses while putting Thunder Bay on the map as a burgeoning innovation hub.
According to official Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada statistics, 1,860 people have been admitted as permanent residents through Startup Visa between 2015 and March 31, 2022. According to Sobirovs Law Firm, the program has a success rate of more than 75 per cent. For Escoto Damas, the visa approval process was full of hurdles. First, the system bogged down in 2020 due to the pandemic. Then he had to overcome his hesitancy about moving to a new country.
In addition to running his company, one of Escoto Damas’s passions has always been to mentor new entrepreneurs. It is something he has done since he started working in the family business in Honduras. He is especially interested in helping newcomers because he understands from his own experience how grueling the adaptation process can be.