Contestants and judges at the premiere screen of the Generation Innovation
video. (Left to right) Generation Innovation Judge Larry Mah, Director of
Programs at Youth in Motion; Renée Michaud, second place finalist; Taylor
Hari, third place finalist; Deanna Parker, first place finalist; and Generation
Innovation Judge Peter Smith.
The next generation of Métis entrepreneurs were brought to light at the premiere screening of the 2012-13 Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO) Generation Innovation: Métis Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge video on December 1. Click here to view the video.
Modeled after the popular CBC TV program Dragon’s Den, the Generation Innovation: Métis Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge is a project designed to provide Métis youth (aged 13-29) with confidence, motivation and, above all, concrete business skills and mentoring. Contestants received business training and competed for prizes in the Dragon’s Den style competition where they pitched their business ideas to the panel of judges.
The production was filmed in March 2013 when the three finalists, Deanna Parker, Renée Michaud and Taylor Hari, pitched their business ideas to the panel of judges.
Contestant Deanna Parker, a recreation therapist from Dryden, was awarded first place. Runner up was Renée Michaud, and in third place was Taylor Hari.
The panel of judges included Chinyere Eni, National Director, Aboriginal and Public Sector Markets at RBC; Peter Smith, President Commerce Assessment Group; Larry Mah, Director of Programs at Youth in Motion; and Paul Ungerman, Manager of Government Affairs at Union Gas.
The Generation Innovation project stimulated the entrepreneurial spirit in its participants while providing them with confidence, motivation and, above all, concrete business skills and mentoring.
The entry deadline for the 2013-14 Generation Innovation Challenge was has passed. Look for stories about this year’s contestants in 2014!