Young Canadian Entrepreneurs: $100,000 BDC Innovation Award

 Innovative young entrepreneurs aged 18-35 have until April 8, 2012 to apply for the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) $100,000 Grand Prize for Innovation and 2012 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award.  Applications can be submitted online between March 5 and April 8, 2012. Contest details are available through the dedicated 2012 BDC Young Entrepreneur Award microsite or on BDC’s Facebook page, BDC Entrepreneur.

BDC Young Entrepreneur Award judges will look for feasible, innovative projects that will enable entrepreneurs to increase their company’s growth potential and overall profitability.

The BDC Young Entrepreneur Award is a great opportunity for entrepreneurs to showcase their abilities and generate growth.

The BDC Young Entrepreneur Award contest has promoted entrepreneurship among young Canadians since 1988, paying homage to their innovative spirit, community involvement and business excellence. In a new twist this year, applicants must create a short video to explain their innovation project and how it will help them take their business to the next level.

For the first time in the award’s history, BDC will use social media and mobile technology to invite Canadians to vote for the grand prize winner.  BDC’s selection committees will choose 11 finalists, one from each province and one from the combined territories. Canadians will then vote for the $100,000 winning entry via the BDC Young Entrepreneur Award microsite at Facebook page, BDC Entrepreneur

The BDC Grand Prize for Innovation winner will receive $100,000 to help implement the innovation project and propel his or her business to new growth. In addition to receiving the grand prize, the winner will also enjoy added visibility through a video journal that will chart his or her progress and allow Canadians to see the innovation project come to life.  For small and medium-sized businesses, successful innovation is often incremental—a simple but creative improvement to an existing product, service or process.  Innovative projects can involve anything from creating an imaginative way to tap into new markets to cutting costs with a smarter manufacturing method or developing an environmentally friendly product.

The key to a successful entry is an executable project that will drive business growth. Eligible projects don’t have to involve a dazzling new invention or a high-tech breakthrough.