Punjabi Chamber of Commerce launching Waterloo region chapter

Punjabi Chamber of Commerce launching Waterloo region chapter

Waterloo region chapter marks 1st expansion beyond Greater Toronto Area

The Punjabi Chamber of Commerce is launching a new chapter in Waterloo region as it looks to better serve the region's growing Punjabi business community.

They will officially launch their Western Ontario chapter with an event in Waterloo on Aug. 13. It marks the organization's first expansion outside the Greater Toronto Area.

"Kitchener-Waterloo is the Silicon Valley of Canada and our community is a big part of the talent powering Google and Microsoft," said Harsimran Grewal, president of the chamber's Canadian operations and Toronto chapter.

"A lot of our people and many business owners have settled in the region over the last decade," he said.

The chamber estimates there are roughly 5,000 Punjabi professionals and business owners across Waterloo region. According to the region’s 2024 immigration profile, Punjabi was the third most common mother tongue among immigrants in Waterloo region.

"The growth there is very real, even if it's not always visible, and it's reached to the point where the region deserves its own space to connect," Grewal said.

The nonprofit organization has operated in Canada for about three years, hosting networking events for business owners, entrepreneurs and business owners. Grewal says about 25,000 people have attended its events over the past year.

The organization recently introduced paid memberships and now hosts monthly events in Brampton and Toronto.

Gurpal Singh is the owner of Home Taste Indian Restaurant, with locations in Kitchener and Waterloo. Since opening his first restaurant in 2018, Singh says he's seen the Punjabi business community in Waterloo region grow rapidly.

"Businesses have grown a lot. When we came to Kitchener in about 2018, there were very few Indian restaurants," he said.

Singh says that while his business serves the broader community, he sees an opportunity for stronger connections among Punjabi-owned businesses.

"We have worked with other Punjabi businesses, especially in the university area. We are connected with the university student groups as well," he said.

"Having one of these for Punjabis, where you can at least raise your voice and discuss your concerns, it's good."

'We amplify what's already there'

Grewal stresses that the new chapter is intended to complement existing business organizations rather than compete with them.

"Think of us as a conduit that makes those exciting existing resources easier for our community to actually reach. We amplify what's already there. We don't duplicate it while still creating a professional home for our diaspora," he said.

He says the chamber plans to work with other local chambers by connecting members to services they may not otherwise know exist.

"Some people just don't even know how to access the existing chambers. So we want to be that conduit that helps people bridge that gap," he said.

Grewel says the Punjabi-focused organization could is not meant to be divisive, he sees the chamber as part of the broader Canadian business community.

"I would see us as a partner and not as a competitor by any means, because we're all Canadians. We're trying to do right by every Canadian out there."

Diego Pizarro is reporter/editor at CBC Kitchener-Waterloo and an associate producer for CBC Television: The National. You can reach him at diego.pizarro@cbc.ca