RDÉE PEI’s Francophone Ignition Contest narrows down to three finalists
SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. RDÉE P.E.I.'s Francophone Ignition Contest has narrowed down its contestant pool to three entrepreneurial projects for its 2023 competition.
Judges have decided that Swenn Workshops Inc. by Kristell Geffroy, On y va! Media by Genevieve Ouellette and Brent Chaisson and Spud Venture Inc. by Marc Bastarache will move on to the final stages of the competition.
The winners of the competition will receive $25,000.
Swenn Workshops is an ethical, high-end fashion brand that offers unisex clothing made locally from natural, organic and recycled materials.
If Geffroy wins, she will use the $25,000 to make an advertising campaign, manufacture new offshoots of the company's products, design new products and redesign her Charlottetown store.
On y va! Média is an established bilingual audio-visual company that has extensive skills and knowledge of the audio-visual and culturalartistic sectors.
Rollo Bay's Ouellette and Miscouche's Chaisson will use the winnings on new video and lighting equipment, bags and wheeled boxes to move their equipment, a trailer to transport
their equipment, production software and promotional materials.
Spud Venture Inc. wants to develop a mechanized method of producing fourpound packages of grated potatoes to sell to industrial producers in Nova Scotia and eventually throughout Atlantic Canada.
Bastarache's method significantly reduces the amount of labour required to process the potatoes.
He will use the winnings to upgrade his equipment and processing space, for travelling to Nova Scotia for sales negotiations, for licensing, registration and insurance fees, for hiring a consultant and for production trials.
The finals will take place on March 2 at 7 p.m. at the
Village musical acadien in Abram-Village.
Finalists will meet one last time during the competition to present their pitches in front of a new jury and audience.
The public is welcome to attend the competition for free, which will be done in Dragon's Den and Shark Tank style.