International exposure inspires new growth opportunities for Mongolian woman-led business

Participating in an agri-food industry trade fair in Canada offered Ankhtuya Dashdorj, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Puma Service LLC, fresh insights into international markets, helping her to identify new opportunities for partnerships and future business growth.

It is not the first time that Ms Dashdorj has explored new opportunities for Puma Service, a company that manufactures products from recycled wood materials. However, her visit to SIAL Canada 2026 trade show, one of North America's largest agro-food exhibitions, which brings together companies from across the food industry, enabled Ms Dashdorj to connect with businesses overseas, explore new markets and gain insights into new potential ways to diversify the company.

Through the Women Exporters in the Digital Economy (WEIDE) Fund's Discovery Track, Ms Dashdorj has benefitted from grants, technical assistance and coaching designed for early-stage businesses. In addition, when, at the launch of the Fund in Mongolia in 2025, she outlined the potential for Puma Service through a WEIDE Mini Pitch competition, she won the opportunity to participate in the SIAL Canada 2026.

An entrepreneur with a history of reinvention

Ms Dashdorj's journey into entrepreneurship began during Mongolia's transition to a market economy. After graduating with a degree in Biology, Plant and Soil Sciences from Irkutsk State University in 1986, she worked as an agrochemist at a state farm before deciding to build a business of her own.

In 1994, she founded Sanmeri LLC, a trading and retail company that has operated continuously for more than three decades. Four years later, she established Puma Service LLC.

The company initially focused on domestic and international trade before moving into manufacturing. Between 2001 and 2012, Puma Service produced construction materials, including expanded polystyrene insulation and plastic pipes, while also operating a plastic recycling and export business. At its peak, the company employed more than 60 people.

Then, in 2014, a major fire destroyed the company's production facilities.

For Ms Dashdorj, rebuilding was not simply about restoring what had been lost. It became an opportunity to rethink the direction of the business.

In 2018, she launched a new manufacturing operation focused on products made from recycled wood materials. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges it brought, Puma Service stabilized its operations and continued to grow.

Today, sustainable manufacturing and international market development are at the centre of Ms Dashdorj's vision for the company.

Discovering new possibilities at SIAL Canada

Against this background, Ms Dashdorj's participation in SIAL Canada opened up new opportunities.

Although Puma Service operates outside the agro-food sector, which is the focus of SIAL Canada, the exhibition nevertheless gave Ms Dashdorj access to international companies and potential business partners, while also enabling her to discover practices relevant to manufacturing and international markets, including packaging, warehousing, product coding and inventory management.

"It was especially meaningful to see in practice many of the concepts we had learned during the WEIDE training," she said.

Having returned with samples of certain disposable wooden products, Ms Dashdorj has been encouraged by the experience to consider how wooden products manufactured by Puma Service could be further developed, and which products might offer the greatest potential for export.

Building connections for international growth

Ms Dashdorj's experience has encouraged her to explore new opportunities in international markets. Not only has she begun to look towards Canada as a potential export destination for Puma Service's wooden products, but she is also looking into importing Canadian dietary supplement products and Indonesian snack and confectionery products to Mongolia.

This two-way approach reflects her broader vision for the company. Rather than viewing internationalization solely as an effort to export, she sees global connections as an opportunity to exchange products, ideas and expertise across markets.

"We have concluded that expanding and diversifying our business is the right direction for our future growth," Ms Dashdorj said.

Looking beyond Mongolia

For Ms Dashdorj, the opportunity provided through the WEIDE Fund builds on a long entrepreneurial journey shaped by change and resilience.

"For me personally, this experience created a pathway for taking our company to a new level of development," she said.

The journey is still unfolding. But for a business that has rebuilt itself before, Puma Service is well-placed to use this international exposure to seize new opportunities.

About the WEIDE Fund

Launched in 2024 by the WTO Secretariat and the International Trade Centre (ITC), the WEIDE Fund addresses persistent barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in accessing finance, digital tools and global trade opportunities. The Fund is supported by the United Arab Emirates, the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Legacy Fund and the Kingdom of Bahrain. It is currently being implemented in four economies in partnership with four business support organizations: ProDominicana, the Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO), the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).