The OSEntreprendre Challenge: Rewarding Courage and Daring
Stacy Bossum (right), from Uitshiten Soutien/conseil, regional winner of the 24th Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean OSEntreprendre Challenge in the Services to Companies category, with Audrey Desbiens, Advisor, Regional Economic Development (RED).
For the 24th edition of the OSEntreprendre Challenge, Rio Tinto’s Regional Economic Development (RED) was represented on one of the juries selecting the regional laureates in the Business Creation section. RED’s participation in this contest served as a reminder of the importance of the next generation of entrepreneurs and up-and-coming young workers. The contest’s mission is to inspire entrepreneurship in an effort to build a future Quebec that is proud, innovative, engaged and thriving.
“It was a very enriching experience, and we learned about many inspiring projects,” said Luc Cyrenne, Project Director for RED. “The importance of SMEs in the entrepreneurial fabric of Quebec must not be under-estimated. We spent a full day meeting each candidate, but we also had to do a lot of preparing to be able to analyse the applications.”
“It’s a great opportunity for the candidates to be judged by major players in the business world,” said François Cormier, Instructor at Alma College and Regional Representative for OSEntreprendre. “Some candidates have even continued benefitting from the advice of jury membres through their participation in the contest. People were really engaged and committed to the candidates.”
Spotlight on candidates
On 28 April, the contest’s 24th regional gala was held at Alma College. During the event, $30,000 was awarded in scholarships to inspiring, innovative entrepreneurs in four different sections: Scholastic, Business Creation, Successful Business Inc. and Doing Business Together.
“As far as we’re concerned, everyone who participated is a winner,” said Cormier, “because they all had the courage to submit their application and embark on the journey wholeheartedly. In addition to the scholarships, they had the opportunity to develop social relationships, gain new knowledge and go beyond their own limits.”
