Ontario Helping Young Entrepreneurs Kick-Start Own Businesses
High-school 'Make Your Pitch' competition returns for sixth year
TORONTO, Sept. 29, 2017 /CNW/ - Ontario is fostering entrepreneurship among high-school students by supporting the 6th Young Entrepreneurs, Make Your Pitch competition.
The competition, a partnership between the Ontario government and Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), challenges high-school students to pitch their business ideas in two-minute videos, which are then evaluated by judges from the business community. Members of the public can also vote for the best pitch online on the Make Your Pitch website, beginning March 26, 2018.
"Ontario has some of the most innovative, hard-working young entrepreneurs and the exciting business ideas you see at the Young Entrepreneurs, Make Your Pitch competition offer a glimpse of the next generation of innovators," says Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development and Growth. "This competition showcases young Ontarians' world-class ideas, business acumen, and creativity."
Twenty finalists from across Ontario will get business coaching, mentoring and have the chance to present their ideas to a judging panel at OCE's Discovery Conference in Toronto on April 30 and May 1, 2018.
"OCE is excited to once again be partnering with the Government of Ontario to present the Young Entrepreneurs, Make Your Pitch contest and to promote entrepreneurship in the province's high schools," says Dr. Tom Corr, President and CEO of OCE. "Over the last five years, this competition has exposed hundreds of Ontario students to entrepreneurism, and we've seen some amazing ideas brought to life that could help shape the future of innovation in Ontario."
Six winners will be selected and presented with reserved entry into Ontario's Summer Company, which includes a grant of up to $3,000 to help launch their business, as well as an award suite.
"Make Your Pitch granted us opportunities we were able to leverage in pursuing our dreams," say Anjana Somasundaram and YanLing Chen of Don Mills Collegiate Institute, the creators of Müla and 2017 Make Your Pitch winners. "At Discovery, the workshops helped refine our skill sets and impart valuable knowledge, and witnessing the inspiring speakers at Discovery and connecting with like-minded individuals gave us a new-found passion for entrepreneurship. The wealth of knowledge we've gained will prove useful and in applying the skills Make Your Pitch taught us to build our business, perhaps we can even change the world!"
The video submission period ends on March 22, 2018. Finalists will be announced April 12, 2018 on the contest website, www.makeyourpitch.ca.
QUICK FACTS:
- Young Entrepreneurs, Make Your Pitch is accepting video submissions until March 22, 2018.
- Vote for the best video pitch submission from March 26, 2018 until April 6, 2018 on the competition website.
- Now in its sixth year, the contest has received a total of 834 video entries representing 1,142 participants from across Ontario and over 134,148 online votes from the public.
- Check out highlights from past competitions, past winners and entries here.
About Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Inc.
OCE drives the commercialization of cutting-edge research across key market sectors to build the economy of tomorrow and secure Ontario's global competitiveness. In doing this, OCE fosters the training and development of the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs and is a key partner with Ontario's industry, universities, colleges, research hospitals, investors and governments. A champion of leading-edge technologies, best practices and research, OCE invests in sectors such as advanced health, digital media and information communications, advanced manufacturing and materials, and cleantech including energy, environment and water. OCE is a key partner in delivering Ontario's Innovation Agenda as a member of the province's Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs (ONE). Funded by the Government of Ontario, the ONE is made up of regional and sector-focused organizations and helps Ontario-based entrepreneurs rapidly grow their company and create jobs.
SOURCE Ontario Centres of Excellence Inc.
News published on and distributed by:
