Students unleash entrepreneurs across Canadian campuses

Ten Entrepreneurial Campuses Win Grants to Celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week

Toronto, ON, October 16, 2014 – Futurpreneur Canada and Enactus Canada are pleased to announce the winners of 10 Unleash Your Inner Entrepreneur educational grants. A recent cross-Canada competition invited Enactus student teams to submit proposals to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week by hosting events and workshops to inspire young Canadians to consider entrepreneurship. The winning teams will receive funding and marketing support to reach as many people as possible.

“Canadian students have a growing passion for entrepreneurship and a drive to become the leaders of tomorrow,” said Julia Deans, CEO, Futurpreneur Canada. “Futupreneur Canada and Enactus Canada are helping students to encourage other young people to increase their entrepreneurial thinking and action, and realize that entrepreneurship can be a great career choice.”

With the current youth unemployment rate for Canadians aged 15 to 24 at 13.6 per cent, double the national jobless rate, it’s critical that more young people consider turning to entrepreneurship as a career option. A CIBC report released on June 20 indicated that one in 10 young Canadians is neither employed nor in school.

“It is vital for us to support young entrepreneurial leaders in order to advance the economic, social and environmental health of Canada,” said Nicole Almond, President, Enactus Canada. “Entrepreneurship builds this country and we are proud to support youth who inspire the entrepreneurial spirit of others in their community.”

Ten teams were selected to receive $4,000 in funding as part of this initiative, generously supported by the RBC Foundation and presented by Futurpreneur Canada, Enactus Canada and the Foundation for an Entrepreneurial Canada.

The winning Enactus teams are:

  • Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia
  • Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia
  • Nova Scotia Community College, Waterfront Campus, Halifax, Nova Scotia
  • Bishop’s University, Sherbrooke, Quebec
  • University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario
  • Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario
  • University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
  • Medicine Hat College, Medicine Hat, Alberta
  • Mount Royal University, Calgary, Alberta
  • Okanagan College, Kelowna, British Columbia

For more information, visit ww.futurpreneur.ca/unleashentrepreneurs.

About the Unleash Your Inner Entrepreneur Program
The Unleash Your Inner Entrepreneur program is supported by the RBC Foundation and presented by Futurpreneur Canada, Enactus Canada and the Foundation for an Entrepreneurial Canada to educate Canadians aged 18 to 24 about entrepreneurship as a viable career option and inspire them to become entrepreneurs. Across Canada, Enactus teams were invited to submit a proposal to create and deliver an entrepreneurship event to take place during Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), November 17 to November 23.

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For further information:

Lesley Wilmot, Futupreneur Canada: lwilmot@futurpreneur.ca