Press release
Launch of the Young Exporters project: Twelve young entrepreneurs selected to develop their expertise by participating in an innovative program
Montreal, May 7, 2003 - The Fondation du maire de Montréal pour la jeunesse, in conjunction with the World Trade Centre Montréal and the Service d'aide aux jeunes entrepreneurs (SAJE) Montréal Métro and the Montreal Junior Chamber of Commerce, today launched the first activity of the Young Exporters project thanks to the financial support of the project's leading partner, Canada Economic Development.
This program will give 12 young entrepreneurs the opportunity to develop and consolidate new foreign markets with the help of complete export mentoring services.
Market and export development, as well as entrepreneurship, especially among young people, are among the federal government's priorities. Canada Economic Development's contribution of $150,180 to the Young Exporters program a joint initiative of the Fondation du maire de Montréal pour la jeunesse, the Montreal Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Service d'aide aux jeunes entrepreneurs Montréal Métro and the World Trade Centre Montréal specifically targets this two-fold objective. The young business people selected for this initiative will thus benefit from appreciation training that will enable them to contemplate doing business abroad. As Secretary of State Responsible for Canada Economic Development, I am pleased to be a part of this promising project. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish all the participants a fruitful and enriching experience, stated the Honourable Claude Drouin.
Over the course of the next year, the selected companies will benefit from a comprehensive and integrated range of export mentoring services to guide their efforts. The program includes three training workshops, an export analysis conducted at their premises, an export plan, a visit to U.S. Customs and a multi-sectoral visit to a promising market in the North-Eastern U.S.
Given that 70% of Quebec's manufacturing exporters are located in the Montreal region, the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal via the World Trade Centre Montréal has decided to invest in the development of tomorrow's leaders. For the participating companies, the Young Exporters program is the perfect opportunity to carefully assess how ready they are to export and get on the right track to successfully penetrating foreign markets. They will benefit from the exporting know-how of the World Trade Centre Montréal and the personalized monitoring by a business consultant, stated Benoit Labonté, president of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.
The twelve entrepreneurs were selected based on evaluation criteria developed jointly by the four organizations, namely: management's commitment to exporting, market potential for the added-value product or service, production capacity and financial health.
The twelve entrepreneurs selected for this program are as follows: Felipe Gallon, Caribbean Juice; Brigitte Boulanger, Cuisines steam inc.; Ofer Allan Avital, Evidence Matters; Marie-Josée Salvas, Kläss & Co.; M. Mathieu Boivin, MAKA/Norcan Aluminium inc.; Marc Gagnon, MGA Concept; Miguel Heredia, Odotech inc.; Nicolas Bastien, Qualicode Logiciel inc.; Martin Joyal, Rapid Smack inc.; Stéphane Cossette, Real DB inc.; Daniel Raiche, Snowlab design inc.; and Vyara Ndejuru of Yso.
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For information:
Sylvie Paquette
Coordinator, Media relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: (514) 871-4000, ext. 4015
spaquette@ccmm.qc.ca
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