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A two-headed bear skin and 300 young Aboriginal students arrive in Québec City for E-Spirit 2006
BDC's E-Spirit promotes entrepreneurship to Aboriginal youth across Canada
Québec City, QC, May 8, 2006 – Young, budding Aboriginal entrepreneurs have arrived in Québec City for the 6th edition of E-Spirit, a business planning competition organized by BDC. For the last 16 weeks, the students have worked hard developing their business plans and are now getting ready to network and present the results of their efforts.
"E-Spirit is a unique occasion for these students to learn hands-on the challenges involved in starting up a business and to discover the many opportunities entrepreneurship can bring," said Jean-René Halde, President and CEO, BDC. "The initiative focuses on education through different channels: the Internet, traditional classroom training as well as peer and community resources networking."
Bursary
This year, Université Laval, host of the 2006 E-Spirit competition, will offer a $1,000 bursary to one E-Spirit participant, to be applied towards tuition at the university. The bursary recipient will be announced at a Gala dinner on Wednesday, May 10.
"Université Laval is proud to host E-Spirit 2006 and believes in promoting entrepreneurship and education to young Aboriginal students, says Diane Lachapelle, Vice-rector, Development and International Relations at Université Laval. This bursary will help one participant pursue studies in the field of his or her choice."
About the competition
The participating grade 10 to 12 students come from as far as Port Alberni, BC in the West; Iqaluit, Nunavut in the North and Northwest River, Newfoundland and Labrador in the East. Since last October, they have worked with Aboriginal mentors and technical advisors to turn their business concept into a concrete business plan online.
After completing the 16-week program, teams submitted their business plans to BDC. Today, teams will make formal presentations in front of a panel of judges made up of BDC employees, partner representatives, Aboriginal business owners, Université Laval staff and others.
E-Spirit Trade Show and Awards Ceremony
Teams will also present their product or service at a trade show being held on Wednesday, May 10 at the Centre des congrès de Québec. These displays represent the final element in the selection of winners.
"Participating students have worked hard to develop innovative products and services, most of which will be on display during the E-Spirit trade show. Many business ideas reflect the strong traditions of First Nations people, adapted to current trends," stated Jim Richardson, National Director, Aboriginal Banking, BDC. "Booths on display include a caterer from Baffin Island offering its corporate and government clients Inuit delicacies such as Caribou meat and Arctic char, a tattoo enterprise providing clients with non-permanent, ancestral ornamental tattoos, a web portal distributing Aboriginal art to global markets as well as a two-headed bear skin from Nunavut."
At a special awards dinner on Wednesday, May 10, prizes will be awarded to winning teams in the amounts of $2,500 for Gold, $1,500 for Silver and $750 for Bronze. In addition, nine special recognition awards are presented for: Most Innovative Marketing Concept, Most Original Product or Service, Outstanding Video Presentation, Best Team Spirit, Best Use of Technology, Most Original Business Name, Best Logo Design, Best Trade Show Display and Best Presentation.
About BDC
BDC is a financial institution wholly owned by the Government of Canada. BDC plays a complementary role in delivering financial, investment and consulting services to Canadian small business, with a particular focus on the technology and export sectors of the economy.
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