About Nish Trade

Nish Trade provides practical guidance, templates, and step-by-step support to businesses preparing for and growing in international markets.

Our focus is on the decisions and actions that move a business from operating domestically to selling across borders. That includes the structural choices made when a business is first formed — ownership of intellectual property, banking arrangements, pricing structure, record-keeping — through to the operating practices that support sustained export growth: market entry, trade finance, IP protection, and logistics.

We work with businesses whose products, services, or intellectual property can plausibly be sold across borders. This includes software and digital goods, clean technology, design and cultural products, manufactured goods, professional services, and other IP-intensive sectors.

What we provide

Nish Trade publishes plain-language guides and downloadable templates that businesses can use independently. Topics are organized along the export journey:

  • Starting a business — formation decisions that affect export capability, including structure, founders' agreements, naming, banking, and pricing.
  • Preparing to export — understanding what export involves, finding support, and handling a first inquiry from a foreign customer.
  • Exporting and growing — market entry, trade finance, IP protection, logistics, and the operating playbook for cross-border sales.
  • Resources — templates, worksheets, and a plain-language glossary of trade terms.

How we work

Our content is written to be used. Guides are short, practical, and oriented toward action. Where a topic requires legal, financial, or sector-specific expertise, our role is to help businesses understand the question and prepare to engage the right professional advisor — not to replace that advice.

For general small-business support not tied to export — including local retail, hospitality, and personal services — our colleagues at provincial and federal business development offices are well placed to help. We work alongside these organizations and refer businesses to them where their mandate is the better fit.

Working with partners

Nish Trade works with federal trade commissioners, provincial economic development offices, industry associations, and export credit agencies to ensure businesses have access to the full range of support available. If you are not sure which organization can help with your situation, see our map of export support organizations or contact us directly.