15th Edition of the Québec Entrepreneurship Contest - Young entrepreneurs shine at the Desjardins Grand Prize Gala

QUÉBEC, June 19, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - This evening, the Québec Entrepreneurship Contest announced the winners in its 15th (2013) edition at the Desjardins Grand Prize Gala, which took place at the Centre des congrès de Québec. The Gala, hosted by Honorary Co-presidents Cora Tsouflidou, founder of the Cora Group of Companies, and Martin Thibault, President of Absolunet inc, was also honoured by the presence of Agnès Maltais, Minister of Labour, Minister of Employment and Social Solidarity, Minister responsible for the Status of Women and Minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches regions.

This year marked the 15th edition, a landmark year for the Contest, which saw a record number of 52 969 participants submit 3 710 projects. They gained distinction in two divisions, Student Entrepreneurship and Business Creation.

During the evening, no less than 39 provincial prizes totalling $229 500, were awarded. This is in addition to the $347 400 which the finalists received at the regional level in May.

A business woman with an impressive track record, Honorary Co-president Cora Tsouflidou congratulated the prizewinners on their courage and willingness to take risks.

"To be an entrepreneur, you have to take firm hold of your dreams and look beyond the horizon. But you also need a lot of courage because, to achieve your goals, you have to put in a great deal of effort and work extremely hard. I admire all these young entrepreneurs from all over Québec, I admire their fortitude and their astuteness and I congratulate them on having guided their splendid projects to fruition. The best is yet to come!" said an enthusiastic Cora Tsouflidou.

Martin Thibault, himself a winner in the 2nd edition (1999-2000), emphasized the importance of the Contest for Québec's future.

"The Québec Entrepreneurship Contest is an absolute must for all budding entrepreneurs. I feel very privileged to co-chair an event which, year after year, brings together entrepreneurs of all ages and backgrounds and helps to promote Québec's entrepreneurial talent and benefit our society. I am proud to discover that we have such a wealth of talent and creativity in Québec," Mr. Thibault added.

Natacha Jean, President and Director General of the Contest, and Minister Agnès Maltais both noted the quality of the 2013 finalists and winners.

Ms. Jean explained, "It is always a great pleasure for me to meet the hundreds of entrepreneurs from almost every corner of Québec, to find out more about what drives them, their vision of the Québec of the future. I am especially pleased that we are able to support them in the projects that mean so much to them and we take great pride in being able to make that contribution."

Minister Maltais added, "The Québec Entrepreneurship Contest highlights the accomplishments of exceptional students and individuals who create businesses and jobs, people who invest in and carry out major projects. It also helps show that passion, creativity and determination are what drive great accomplishments."

BUSINESS CREATION DIVISION

This year, more than 1 874 entrepreneurs entered 1 200 projects in the Contest. The following are the provincial winners in the Business Creation division:

Bio-food category - presented by SAPUTO 

• First prize: BIOSPORE (Capitale-Nationale region)
• Second prize: FERME NATIBO (Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine)

Commerce category - presented by Deloitte

• First prize: CYCLO EXPERT (Bas Saint-Laurent)
  
• Second prize: COMPAGNIE DE THÉ HESTIA INC. (Montréal)

Social Economy category - presented by the Caisse d'économie solidaire Desjardins

• First prize: NETTOIEPRÊT, COOPÉRATIVE DE TRAVAILLEURS (Capitale-Nationale)
  
• Second prize: ATELIER DE TRAVAIL O'BOULOT (Laurentides)

Business Operation, Processing, Production category - presented by Gaz Métro

• First prize: PRODUITS INNOVATIONS BBRAVER INC (Capitale-Nationale)
  
• Second prize: PÉPINIÈRE BOREALIS (Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean)

Technological and Technical Innovation category - presented by Rogers

• First prize: SYSTÈMES LYKO (Centre-du-Québec)
  
• Second prize: LUMED (Estrie)

Services to Companies category - presented by the Fondation des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec

• First prize: TECHNOLOGIES CGP (Centre-du-Québec)
  
• Second prize: ÉQUIPE ALTIUS (Montérégie)

Services to Individuals category - presented by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

• First prize: CENTRE DE PSYCHOLOGIE QUÉBEC (Capitale-Nationale)
  
• Second prize: SOINS DASSY (Laval)

Business Transition Prize

• CENTRE DES ROSES (Mauricie)

Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge Grand Prize

• IMMUNE BIOSOLUTION INC. (Estrie)
  

SPECIAL PRIZES FOR BUSINESS CREATION

International Prize - Québec International Youth Offices: PÉPINIÈRE CASSE-NOISETTE (Mauricie)

Association des centres locaux de développement du Québec prize: PRODUITS INNOVATIONS BBRAVER INC. (Capitale-Nationale)

Women's Entrepreneurship Prize: LUCIE VEILLETTE, MAGALI PERREAULT, MYLÈNE TÉTREAULT, CLÔTURE INOVART INC. (Laurentides)

Young Women's Entrepreneurship Prize: CHANTAL BROUSSEAU - TRAITEUR POUR ANIMAUX KABO (Montréal)

Interactive Multimedia Entertainment Prize - Ingenio, a subsidiary of Loto-Québec: YOUREXTRALIFE (Mauricie)

Sustainable Development Prize - Réseau des SADC et CAE and Entrepreneuriat Québec: COOP DE SOLIDARITÉ AGROFORESTIÈRE DE MINGANIE - LE GRENIER BORÉAL (Côte-Nord)

STUDENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP DIVISION

This year, more than 51 000 students, from elementary school to university, entered 2 510 projects in the Contest. The following are the 2013 provincial prizewinners in the Student Entrepreneurship division.

Elementary Cycle One (Elementary 1 and 2): UNE HISTOIRE POUR MIEUX DORMIR (Lanaudière)

Elementary Cycle Two (Elementary 3 and 4): FLEURISTES ET JARDINIERS EN HERBE (Côte-Nord)

Elementary Cycle Three (Elementary 5 and 6): LES ZIPADOU, C'EST NOUS! (Abitibi-Témiscamingue)

Secondary Cycle One (Secondary I and II): MOB (Montérégie)

Secondary Cycle Two (Secondary III, IV and V): JOUE LA BONNE CARTE (Montérégie)

Secondary School - Special Education category: LA COOPÉRATIVE LES MAINS DE CHAMPLAIN (Montérégie)

Vocational Training and Adult Education category: LE JARDIN DE LÉONARD (Montréal)

College (individual and small group) category: TRAITEMENT D'EAU PAR NANOFILTRATION (Estrie)

College (group) category: ENTREPRIX (Capitale-Nationale)

University (individual and small group) category: COOPÉRATIVE DES EAUX (Estrie)

University (group) category: UNITÉ DE TRAVAIL POUR L'IMPLANTATION DE LOGEMENT ÉTUDIANT (UTILE pour le quartier latin) (Montréal)

SPECIAL PRIZES FOR STUDENT ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Fondation pour l'éducation à la coopération et à la mutualité Prize:

• LES ZIPADOU, C'EST NOUS! (Abitibi-Témiscamingue)
• JEUNE COOP VERTE (Laval)

School Retention Prize - Réseau des carrefours jeunesse-emploi du Québec: EXPO-SCIENCES GANG D'INSECTES (Laval)

Association des clubs d'entrepreneurs étudiants du Québec Prize: L'ENTRECLUBS (Centre-du-Québec)

REGIONAL COMMITMENT PRIZE
RÉGION DE LANAUDIÈRE

To obtain the list of winners and project descriptions, go to http://www.concours-entrepreneur.org/en and click on the "Winners" tab.

About the Québec Entrepreneurship Contest
The Québec Entrepreneurship Contest promotes entrepreneurship in Québec by rewarding concrete business initiatives throughout the province. The Student Entrepreneurship division encourages students to create projects that contribute to the development of entrepreneurial values in schools, from the elementary to the university level. The Contest's Business Creation Division encourages entrepreneurs who are in the first stages of launching a business. Over the course of 15 years, more than a million participants have submitted in excess of 60 000 projects.

This initiative was made possible by more than 40 partners, including Mouvement Desjardins as a presenting partner, the Québec government, Rogers, Deloitte, Gaz Métro, the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Les Affaires magazine, the Barreau du Québec, the Fondation CPA, Saputo, the Association des Centres locaux de développement (CLD) du Québec, Entrepreneuriat Québec and the Réseau des SADC et CAE du Québec.

SOURCE: Québec Entrepreneurship Contest

Anne-Sophie Laframboise
[email protected]
514-843-7171, extension 2063