WELLINGTON – Dec. 16, 2021 – « There are only a few days left to submit your application to the Francophone Ignition Contest for a chance to win a $25,000 investment to help you get your entrepreneurial development project off the ground. The deadline for submissions is midnight on Jan. 3, 2022, » says Julie Gallant, who coordinates the competition for RDÉE Prince Edward Island.
« Several people have shown an interest this year but not that many submissions have been received yet, » adds Gallant. « If the tradition of past years holds, we will receive several proposals at the very last minute.”
She reminds people that eligible contestants will attend a mandatory weekend of self-discovery, communication, financial and sales pitch training on Jan. 29 and 30. Pre-selection interviews with a first panel of judges will then take place on Feb. 12; the top three projects will then be invited to the finals.
Scheduled for March 2 at the Village musical acadien in Abram-Village, this grand finale will take the form of a competition similar to Dragons’ Den and Shark Tank TV shows. Each contestant will have to present their project to a new panel of business professionals and the public. The judges will then be able to ask them questions about their business projects.
The person who submits the project with the most potential for success will then receive the monetary investment, which comes from Innovation PEI’s Ignition Startup Fund. They will also receive free memberships to the Summerside and Charlottetown Chambers of Commerce and the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI as well as free college courses from the Collège de l’Île.
This final will be RDÉE PEI’s eighth entrepreneurial competition.
« So if you have an entrepreneurial idea in mind, this is your chance to access a respectable amount of money to help you implement it, » says Ms. Gallant.
CRITERIA
The contest is open to French-speaking or bilingual entrepreneurs (current or potential) who want to start a new business, launch a new product or service, or expand an existing business into a new production line. The business must offer its services in both official languages and must be based in Prince Edward Island. At least one of the owners of the company must be able to do business in French and make their pre-selection and final presentations in French. The product or service developed must have the potential to be exported outside of PEI.
Companies that have already received funding from the Francophone Ignition Contest, RDÉE PEI’s former Dragons Contest, the Ignition Startup Fund or the provincial Food Excel – Food Island Partnership Program are not eligible to enter the competition.
Those interested in participating must simply download the application form from the website, www.rdeeipe.net/ignition/, fill it out completely and submit it to the coordinator by the deadline. Gallant can be reached at ignition@rdeeipe.org or 902-854-3439, ext. 227.
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PHOTO: Julie Gallant, coordinator of the 2022 edition of the Francophone Ignition Contest, recently met with Robert Godfrey, chief executive officer of the Greater Charlottetown and Area Chamber of Commerce, to discuss his sponsorship of the contest. He is offering a free one-year membership to his chamber to the winner.
For more information, please contact
Julie Gallant, coordinator
2022 Francophone Ignition Contest
902-854-3439 ext. 227
ignition@rdeeipe.org