Ontario is helping promising young entrepreneurs kick-start their business ideas through the Young Entrepreneurs, Make Your Pitch competition.
Competition winners were announced Tuesday at OCE Discovery in Toronto. The six successful high school students will receive $750 towards their postsecondary education from Desire2Learn and a reserved spot in Ontario’s Summer Company program.
The six winners are:
- Ramez Fazelyar of Toronto for The Guy Box
- Iman Jaffari of Toronto for Foodpost
- Nish Kapuria of Kingston for Voluntree
- Quinsea McKenna of Collingwood for Fundja
- George Oni of Hamilton for Kemies
- Riley Tsang of Windsor for Simplistic Lawn Care
Ontario’s 2013 Budget introduced the government’s Youth Jobs Strategy to help more youth find jobs or start their own businesses, while helping employers find the skilled workers they need to thrive in the global economy. If the Budget is passed, the government would invest $295 million over two years to create employment opportunities for about 30,000 youth, while promoting innovation and entrepreneurship.
“The Make Your Pitch competition shows the great creative and entrepreneurial strengths of Ontario’s young people,” said Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Employment. “Learning business startup skills will help students build their futures and will contribute to Ontario’s competitiveness, job growth and future economy.”
Close to 100 students entered the online competition, which involved creating a video up to two minutes long describing an idea for a new business or innovation.
