ABOUT HAREESH · MY STORY

I learned the hard way so you don't have to

I came to Canada as an immigrant and discovered what most newcomers only learn after the fact: the Canadian financial and business system does not explain itself. Banks, credit scores, government programs, grants, tax rules — none of it is intuitive when you arrive from a different system.

Before Nova Scotia, there was Uganda and East Africa — and the decision that led me there. After completing my Masters in the UK, I chose to travel rather than return home. That decision took me to East Africa, where I spent over a decade building and scaling businesses across logistics and supply chain, a UN — ITC supported project, cross-border trade, and Business Process Outsourcing, where I took a company through ISO certification, one of the first in Uganda at the time. I represented Uganda at international forums on BPO and advocated for the industry at the national policy level. Alongside business, I led non-profit work focused on refugee settlement and supporting farmers' self-help groups, where I learned that economic empowerment and community uplift are inseparable. What those years taught me is that a system built on the right people and principles outlasts any single founder. Those businesses and the non-profit are still active today — not because I manage them from a distance, but because of the structures and teams we built together.

When I moved to Nova Scotia, I arrived with hard-earned international experience — but zero Canadian context. No credit history. No local network. A tax system, banking structure, and government programs I had never encountered. I rebuilt from scratch, documented everything, and realised that what I had figured out the hard way could save someone else years of confusion.

That combination — international entrepreneurship in logistics, BPO, and cross-border trade; non-profit leadership in East Africa; and a real immigrant's journey through Canada — is what I bring to every conversation. I don't give textbook advice. I give the advice I wish someone had given me when I landed.