La version fran莽aise suit la version anglaise.

Semi-pro player, trainer, coach and 91亚色, Glendon Campus alumnus now runs his own soccer academy for young players thanks to the GENIAL entrepreneurial incubator

Nolan Karuta knows what it takes to be successful in soccer and it鈥檚 more than fundamental skills, footwork and passing. It鈥檚 about having the right mindset coupled with a passion for the game. The same can be said for the entrepreneurial game of business.

Karuta, a 2023 91亚色 Glendon Campus graduate with a bilingual degree in business economics, is not short on passion. 鈥淚 played soccer my whole life and stopped for a couple of years,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 came back to it when I went to 91亚色 because they were known as the best soccer program in Canada. I played and trained with them and played semi-pro for about seven years.鈥�

He wasn鈥檛 just passionate about playing soccer, he had an entrepreneurial spirit and an abundance of ideas for businesses, from preventing package theft at front doors to print-on-demand. 鈥淚 was always kind of entrepreneurially minded. I was always ready to take a leap of faith,鈥� says Karuta.

But discovering which business venture best suited his unique set of skills, strengths and connections came after graduation when he joined the entrepreneurial incubator of the Glendon ENtrepreneuriat et Innovation A L鈥檌nternational (GENIAL) Initiative at the suggestion of Glendon Associate Professor Angelo Dossou-Yovo. Through GENIAL, Karuta was able to focus his passion. 鈥淚 think it's a great program, something that's really unique,鈥� he says.

Dossou-Yovo, the management and entrepreneurship professor who developed the initiative in 2017, agrees. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the only business incubator in Ontario that I鈥檓 aware of that focuses on the process of discovering business opportunities. In addition, we offer a bilingual program, both French and English, and that makes us different. We don鈥檛 just have participants develop a business model. At the outset, you really need to make sure you're starting the right business because there is no point developing a business model for a venture that would not gain any market traction or end up not surviving within one to three years.鈥�

Through the process, Karuta soon realized what was there all along 鈥� a business that drew from his extensive knowledge, experience and skills at playing, teaching and coaching soccer. That was what first sparked the idea for to train young players in both English and French by focussing on technical fundamentals and defensive intelligence, a skill set he says is often overlooked in grassroots Canadian soccer.

鈥淚t seems natural in hindsight, but it took some time to realize it. I had a strong football (soccer) network, was a trainee, and coached and played with an ex-Arsenal player towards the end of my career. I thought, I can do this. Without the GENIAL Initiative I don鈥檛 think I would have had the same confidence. It helps develop resiliency and provide a support system,鈥� says Karuta. With more than a decade of coaching experience, he continues to be asked by pro players to help coach, such as at FC Bayern M眉nich鈥檚 summer football (soccer) camps. He traveled with them for four weeks and underwent coaching from their philosophy under the Bayern world squad head coach Christopher Loch.

Dossou-Yovo acknowledges that Karuta had several earlier ideas, but this one was 鈥渞eally in line with his passion and is a testimony to the initiative, that it actually helps. We try to create an entrepreneurship mindset by focusing on the early stage of the life cycle of a business. We look at how to identify and develop business opportunities.鈥� It begins with problem solving and learning how to discover and identify business opportunities that offer a higher probability of success.

鈥淲e're in the business of helping would-be entrepreneurs and those interested in entrepreneurship to develop entrepreneurship skills,鈥� adds Dossou-Yovo. Within the bilingual GENIAL initiative is a 15-week Entrepreneurial Skills Passport Program, which recently started offering modules to professionals. Once they complete all the modules, they receive a digital badge. The initiative has also grown and now accepts francophone students from other universities and colleges.

A research program in entrepreneurship and innovation within GENIAL is now also developing a crowdsourcing platform to help test business ideas, what might work or not, and what are the opportunities. Something that is especially useful for participants that don鈥檛 have deep experience and knowledge in a particular business they鈥檙e interested in.

There is also an annual Student Entrepreneurship Competition where students can pitch their ideas, learn how to communicate the value of their business to potential partners and hopefully attract seed funding to launch and scale their business. Karuta took second place in the competition last year and won the public choice award.

This year鈥檚 competition was held on Oct. 2 and presented by Glendon GENIAL and Desjardins Financial Group, which has donated to this initiative and a second initiative, YSpace鈥檚 ELLA for women entrepreneurs, to expand both.

That gift helped not only with infrastructure needs for the GENIAL incubator and its Entrepreneurial Skills Passport program (ESP), but also resources for the experiential education component of the courses, specifically in social enterprise design, as well as the entrepreneurship project course. In addition, it allowed more modules to be added to the ESP program and provides seed funding to the student entrepreneurs.

The future vision for the Karuta Futbol Academy is to expand and have a non-profit affiliation to hold community pick-up events, drop-in clinics and have a more affordable price point for high level training. Karuta aims to have multiple hubs (North 91亚色, 91亚色 Region, Durham, downtown Toronto) as part of a franchise model by 2026鈥�2027.

Karuta continues to refer to what he learned through GENIAL to grow his academy training an increasing number of players ages 10 to 16. Beyond the skill level, Karuta is looking to see if the young players are teachable. 鈥淐an I develop a love of the game and help them be a better person?鈥� That is most important. The rest of it, he says he can train. In fact, he loves working with some of the more challenging kids and helping them develop, not just their footwork, but as well-rounded athletes.

鈥淲ith the youngest players, it鈥檚 more about developing skills, but as they get older, that changes and it becomes more about mindset and game IQ. You need the right mindset to succeed.鈥�

L鈥檌nitiative GENIAL de Glendon aide un dipl么m茅 脿 canaliser sa passion pour le sport

Ancien joueur semi-professionnel, un dipl么m茅 du campus Glendon de l鈥橴niversit茅 91亚色 devenu entra卯neur dirige aujourd鈥檋ui une acad茅mie de soccer pour jeunes joueurs gr芒ce 脿 l鈥檌ncubateur d鈥檈ntreprises GENIAL.

Nolan Karuta sait que le succ猫s au soccer ne se r茅sume pas aux comp茅tences fondamentales, au jeu de jambes et aux passes. Il faut 茅galement 锚tre dot茅 du bon 茅tat d鈥檈sprit et 锚tre passionn茅 par ce sport. Il en va de m锚me pour le monde des affaires.

Nolan, qui a obtenu en 2023 un dipl么me bilingue en 茅conomie et commerce au campus Glendon de l鈥橴niversit茅 91亚色, ne manque pas de passion. 芦鈥塉鈥檃i jou茅 au soccer toute ma vie en m鈥檃rr锚tant seulement pendant quelques ann茅es, explique-t-il. Je m鈥檡 suis remis lorsque je suis arriv茅 脿 l鈥橴niversit茅 91亚色, qui avait la r茅putation d鈥檃voir le meilleur programme de soccer au Canada. Je me suis entra卯n茅 et j鈥檃i jou茅 en semi-professionnel pendant environ sept ans.鈥壜�

Sa passion pour le soccer s鈥檃joutait 脿 un fort esprit d鈥檈ntreprise. Nolan avait en effet en t锚te de nombreux concepts d鈥檈ntreprises comme la pr茅vention du vol de colis laiss茅s 脿 la porte d鈥檈ntr茅e ou l鈥檌mpression sur demande. 芦鈥塉鈥檃i toujours 茅t茅 anim茅 par l鈥檈sprit d鈥檈ntreprise. J鈥檃i toujours 茅t茅 pr锚t 脿 faire un saut dans l鈥檌nconnu鈥壜�, d茅clare Nolan.

Cependant, ce n鈥檈st qu鈥檃pr猫s l鈥檕btention de son dipl么me qu鈥檌l a d茅couvert quel type d鈥檈ntreprise correspondait le mieux 脿 ses comp茅tences, 脿 ses atouts et 脿 son pr茅cieux r茅seau. Il a rejoint l鈥檌ncubateur entrepreneurial de l鈥檌nitiative Glendon ENtrepreneuriat et Innovation 脌 L鈥檌nternational (GENIAL) sur la suggestion d鈥橝ngelo Dossou-Yovo, professeur agr茅g茅 de gestion et d鈥檈ntrepreneuriat 脿 Glendon, et a pu canaliser sa passion. 芦鈥塉e pense que GENIAL est un excellent programme, quelque chose de vraiment unique鈥壜�, affirme Nolan.

M. Dossou-Yovo, qui a d茅velopp茅 l鈥檌nitiative en 2017, rench茅rit : 芦鈥壝� ma connaissance, c鈥檈st le seul incubateur d鈥檈ntreprises en Ontario ax茅 sur le processus de d茅couverte de possibilit茅s commerciales. De plus, nous nous d茅marquons en offrant un programme bilingue, fran莽ais et anglais. Les participant路e路s ne doivent pas se contenter d鈥櫭﹍aborer un mod猫le d鈥檈ntreprise. D猫s le d茅but, il faut s鈥檃ssurer de se lancer dans la bonne activit茅, car c鈥檈st inutile d鈥櫭﹍aborer un mod猫le commercial pour une jeune entreprise qui ne parviendrait pas 脿 s鈥檌mposer sur le march茅 ou qui finirait par dispara卯tre en un 脿 trois ans.鈥壜�

Durant ce processus, Nolan s鈥檈st vite rendu compte qu鈥檌l avait tout avantage 脿 lancer une entreprise fond茅e sur ses connaissances pouss茅es, son exp茅rience et ses comp茅tences en mati猫re de pratique, d鈥檈nseignement et d鈥檈ntra卯nement du soccer. L鈥檌d茅e de la a donc germ茅 : elle forme de jeunes en anglais et en fran莽ais tout en mettant l鈥檃ccent sur les fondements techniques et l鈥檌ntelligence d茅fensive, un ensemble de comp茅tences qui, selon lui, est souvent n茅glig茅 dans le soccer canadien de base.

芦鈥塁ela semble naturel avec le recul, mais il m鈥檃 fallu du temps pour m鈥檈n rendre compte. J鈥檃vais un r茅seau solide dans le domaine du soccer. J鈥檃vais 茅t茅 joueur et entra卯neur et vers la fin de ma carri猫re semi-professionnelle, j鈥檃vais c么toy茅 un ancien joueur d鈥橝rsenal. Je me suis dit que j鈥檈n 茅tais capable. Sans l鈥檌nitiative GENIAL, je ne crois pas que j鈥檃urais eu autant d鈥檃ssurance. GENIAL renforce la r茅silience et fournit un syst猫me de soutien鈥壜�, ajoute Nolan. Avec plus d鈥檜ne d茅cennie 脿 son actif en tant qu鈥檈ntra卯neur, il continue d鈥櫭猼re sollicit茅 par des joueurs professionnels, notamment lors des camps d鈥櫭﹖茅 du FC Bayern de Munich. Il a voyag茅 avec les joueurs pendant quatre semaines et a suivi leur philosophie sous la houlette de Christopher Loch, l鈥檈ntra卯neur de l鈥櫭﹒uipe mondiale du Bayern.

Angelo Dossou-Yovo confirme que Nolan avait plusieurs id茅es initiales, mais que cette derni猫re 芦鈥塩orrespondait vraiment 脿 sa passion et qu鈥檈lle t茅moigne de l鈥檜tilit茅 de l鈥檌nitiative GENIAL. Nous essayons de cr茅er un 茅tat d鈥檈sprit entrepreneurial en nous concentrant sur les premi猫res 茅tapes du cycle de vie d鈥檜ne entreprise. Nous examinons les moyens de d茅finir et de d茅velopper des possibilit茅s commerciales鈥壜�. Cela commence par la r茅solution de probl猫mes et l鈥檃pprentissage de la mani猫re de d茅couvrir et de cerner les plus viables.

芦鈥塏ous aidons les entrepreneurs potentiels et les personnes qui s鈥檌nt茅ressent 脿 l鈥檈ntrepreneuriat 脿 d茅velopper des comp茅tences dans ce domaine鈥壜�, ajoute-t-il. Dans le cadre de l鈥檌nitiative bilingue GENIAL, un programme de passeport de comp茅tences entrepreneuriales d鈥檜ne dur茅e de 15 semaines a r茅cemment commenc茅 脿 proposer des modules aux professionnels. Une fois qu鈥檌ls ont termin茅 tous les modules, les participant路e路s re莽oivent un badge num茅rique. L鈥檌nitiative s鈥檈st d茅velopp茅e et accueille maintenant des 茅tudiant路e路s francophones d鈥檃utres universit茅s et coll猫ges.

Un programme de recherche sur l鈥檈ntrepreneuriat et l鈥檌nnovation au sein de GENIAL est en train de mettre au point une plateforme de production participative pour aider 脿 tester les id茅es commerciales, ce qui pourrait fonctionner ou non, et quelles sont les possibilit茅s. C鈥檈st particuli猫rement utile pour les participant路e路s qui n鈥檕nt pas d鈥檈xp茅rience et de connaissances approfondies dans le domaine d鈥檈ntreprise qui les int茅resse.

Par ailleurs, un concours annuel de l鈥檈ntrepreneuriat 茅tudiant donne la chance aux 茅tudiantes et 茅tudiants de pr茅senter leurs concepts, d鈥檃pprendre 脿 communiquer la valeur de leur entreprise 脿 des partenaires potentiels et, avec un peu de chance, d鈥檕btenir un financement de d茅part pour lancer et d茅velopper leur entreprise. L鈥檃nn茅e derni猫re, Nolan a remport茅 la deuxi猫me place du concours et le prix du choix du public.

Le concours de cette ann茅e, qui a eu lieu le 2聽octobre, 茅tait pr茅sent茅 par GENIAL et le Groupe financier Desjardins, qui a fait un don 脿 cette initiative et 脿 une autre initiative pour les femmes entrepreneures, ELLA de聽YSpace, en vue de leur expansion.

Ce don a permis non seulement de r茅pondre aux besoins en infrastructure de l鈥檌ncubateur GENIAL et de son programme Passeport Comp茅tences Entrepreneuriales (PCE), mais aussi de fournir des ressources pour la composante d鈥櫭ヾucation exp茅rientielle des cours, notamment pour la cr茅ation d鈥檈ntreprises 脿 vocation sociale, ainsi que pour le cours sur les projets d鈥檈ntrepreneuriat. Par ailleurs, il a permis d鈥檃jouter d鈥檃utres modules au programme PCE et de fournir un financement de d茅part aux 茅tudiant飧眅飧眘 entrepreneur飧眅飧眘.

La vision d鈥檃venir de la Karuta Futbol Academy est de s鈥檃grandir et d鈥檃voir une affiliation 脿 but non lucratif afin d鈥檕rganiser des parties communautaires improvis茅es, des cliniques sans inscription pr茅alable et de proposer des formations de haut niveau 脿 des prix plus abordables. Nolan aimerait avoir plusieurs centres d鈥檃ctivit茅s (North 91亚色, r茅gion de 91亚色, Durham, centre-ville de Toronto) dans le cadre d鈥檜n mod猫le de franchise d鈥檌ci 2026-2027.

Il continue de se r茅f茅rer 脿 ce qu鈥檌l a appris gr芒ce 脿 GENIAL pour d茅velopper son acad茅mie en formant un nombre croissant de joueurs 芒g茅s de 10 脿 16 ans. Au-del脿 du niveau de comp茅tence, Nolan Karuta cherche 脿 savoir si les jeunes de l鈥檃cad茅mie sont capables d鈥檃pprendre. 芦鈥塒uis-je leur faire aimer le jeu et les aider 脿 devenir de meilleures personnes?鈥壜� C鈥檈st le plus important. Pour le reste, il peut les entra卯ner. En fait, il adore travailler avec certains des enfants en difficult茅 et les aider 脿 d茅velopper, non seulement leur jeu de jambes, mais aussi leur personnalit茅 d鈥檃thl猫te.

芦鈥堿vec les plus jeunes, l鈥檃ccent est davantage mis sur l鈥櫭﹍aboration des comp茅tences, mais 脿 mesure qu鈥檌ls grandissent, cela 茅volue et l鈥檃ccent est davantage mis sur l鈥櫭﹖at d鈥檈sprit et l鈥檌ntelligence de jeu. Il est essentiel d鈥檃voir le bon 茅tat d鈥檈sprit pour r茅ussir.鈥壜�

The post Glendon鈥檚 GENIAL Initiative helps former student focus his passion for the game appeared first on News@91亚色.

La version fran莽aise suit la version anglaise.

The entrepreneurially driven initiative teaches non-business participants the foundational skills for identifying opportunities and developing innovative solutions to start a new business.

Gabrielle Cooper-Saint-Cyr had already finished her BA in international studies at 91亚色鈥檚 Glendon College and was part way into a degree in translation services when she saw a poster for Glendon ENtrepreneuriat et Innovation A L鈥檌nternational (GENIAL) initiative on the hallway wall opposite her class.

鈥淚 thought this seems like the exact thing that I'm looking for. And it was already ongoing on campus, which was easily accessible,鈥� she says.

At the time, Cooper-Saint-Cyr was trying to figure out how as a non-business student she could get the entrepreneurial skills and guidance needed to propel her work as a freelance translator forward. The GENIAL initiative did so much more. It gave her the confidence and know how to start her own translation business, not just do it off the side of her desk.

GENIAL, a bilingual initiative, offers Glendon students, Faculties and Ontario francophones training, extracurricular activities, and a research program in entrepreneurship and innovation. 

The fact that the GENIAL entrepreneurial incubator was open to everyone regardless of their degree and was in Cooper-Saint-Cyr鈥檚 first language, French, as well as English was a huge bonus for her.

鈥淚t鈥檚 especially nice if you鈥檙e working and living in Ontario as there aren鈥檛 always French resources available and not everything is bilingual. It also helps establish a better sense of community,鈥� she says. 鈥淭ranslation is not like a traditional company that you're creating, so it was a bit more complicated, but any questions I had was easily answered.鈥�

Cooper-Saint-Cyr is one of the winners of last year鈥檚 business pitch Student Entrepreneurship Competition presented by Glendon GENIAL and Desjardins Financial Group, which donated more than $775,000 to this initiative and a second initiative, YSpace鈥檚 ELLA for women entrepreneurs, to expand both accelerators. That gift helped not only with infrastructure needs for the GENIAL incubator and its Entrepreneurial Skills Passport program (ESP), but also resources for the experiential education component of the courses, specifically in social enterprise design, as well as the entrepreneurship project course. In addition, it allowed more modules to be added to the ESP program and provides seed funding to the student entrepreneurs.

鈥淚t really helped us get to the next level,鈥� says Associate Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship Angelo Dossou-Yovo, who launched the GENIAL initiative in 2017. So far 64 students have gained entrepreneurial knowledge through the ESP program.

This year鈥檚 competition on Sept. 26 will again offer students, interested in developing their entrepreneurial spirit, the opportunity to pitch their venture project and get seed funding. 

Dossou-Yovo joined 91亚色鈥檚 Faculty of Glendon as a business faculty member in its four-year dual degree program, which offers students the ability to combine two years of studies at Glendon with two additional ones at the Emlyon Business School in France to earn an International Bachelor of Arts (iBA) in International Studies and a Global Bachelor in Business Administration (GBBA).

But when he saw the tremendous interest liberal arts students showed in attaining entrepreneurial skills, he realized there was an opportunity to offer something unique to the francophone and bilingual community.

鈥淚n this initiative we try to create an entrepreneurship mindset by focusing on the early stage of the life cycle of a business. We look at how to identify and develop business opportunities. How to know when something is worth spending time, money and resources on in the long run. The starting point is solving problems, and how to discover and identify opportunities, but also how to test them and make sure that you come up with something with a higher probability of success,鈥� says Dossou-Yovo.

鈥淲e're in the business of helping would-be entrepreneurs and those interested in entrepreneurship to develop entrepreneurship skills they can leverage later on either to create a business or to look for a job in organizations where intrapreneurship skills are needed.鈥�

Within the GENIAL initiative is the 15-week Entrepreneurial Skills Passport Program, a series of workshops, entrepreneurial activities, and presentations, where Cooper-Saint-Cyr developed the skills to start her translation business years before she originally intended. Despite not having a business background, she felt she was in the right place.

鈥淚 received a lot of help throughout. There wasn't ever a point where I was like 鈥極h, this is something I should rethink doing鈥� because I kept getting the help I needed, which is great. If you're going to go into a program of that sort you want to feel like you're on par with all the other students and can learn at the same pace.鈥�

The final piece, the pitch competition, teaches students to communicate the value of their business to potential partners and to hopefully attract seed funding to launch and scale their business.

Although Cooper-Saint-Cyr wasn鈥檛 sure what to expect when she started, she says, 鈥渋t definitely went beyond my hopes.鈥� By the end of a few months, including some time off to concentrate on her other studies, she had already registered her company and lined up several contracts.

鈥淭hat was amazing. They know what they're doing for one, but they also know when to push and when to allow you to take a step back. They are great in helping you push forward when you have your doubts.鈥�

She is now looking to expand her business and offer more services.

鈥淚 think that's a success story,鈥� says Dossou-Yovo. 鈥淵ou know, that wouldn't be possible if she did not have access to the GENIAL initiative while being student at Glendon.鈥�

It鈥檚 also another way organizations like Desjardins are stepping up to help 91亚色 create positive change now and into the future.

L鈥檌nitiative GENIAL de Glendon aide la population 茅tudiante et les communaut茅s francophones de l鈥橭ntario 脿 exceller

Cette d茅marche ax茅e sur l鈥檈ntrepreneuriat inculque aux personnes qui d茅butent en affaires les comp茅tences fondamentales qui leur permettront d鈥檌dentifier des occasions et de concevoir des approches in茅dites pour cr茅er leur entreprise.

Ayant d茅j脿 脿 son actif un baccalaur茅at en 茅tudes internationales du Coll猫ge universitaire Glendon de l鈥橴niversit茅 91亚色, Gabrielle Cooper-Saint-Cyr pr茅parait un dipl么me en traduction lorsqu鈥檈lle a remarqu茅 une affiche GENIAL (Glendon ENtrepreneuriat et Innovation 脌 L鈥檌nternational) sur le mur en face de sa classe.

芦 Je me suis dit que c鈥櫭﹖ait exactement ce que je cherchais. Le projet 茅tait d茅j脿 en cours sur mon campus, alors c鈥櫭﹖ait tr猫s facile d鈥檡 acc茅der. 禄, explique-t-elle.

脌 l鈥櫭﹑oque, Mme Cooper-Saint-Cyr cherchait 脿 d茅velopper ses comp茅tences entrepreneuriales en tant qu鈥櫭﹖udiante non form茅e dans ce domaine afin de mieux g茅rer sa future carri猫re de traductrice autonome. GENIAL a fait beaucoup plus pour elle : en plus de lui fournir les comp茅tences techniques et la confiance n茅cessaires, l鈥檌nitiative l鈥檃 encourag茅e 脿 fonder une entreprise de traduction.

GENIAL est une initiative bilingue qui offre 脿 la population 茅tudiante de Glendon, aux facult茅s et aux francophones de l鈥橭ntario une formation, des activit茅s para-universitaires et un programme de recherche en entrepreneuriat et en innovation. 

Le fait que l鈥檌ncubateur entrepreneurial GENIAL soit ouvert 脿 tout le monde 鈥� peu importe leur dipl么me 鈥�, et qu鈥檌l soit offert en fran莽ais (la langue maternelle de Mme Cooper-Saint-Cyr) ainsi qu鈥檈n anglais 茅tait un 茅norme atout.

芦 C鈥檈st particuli猫rement utile si vous travaillez et vivez en Ontario, car tout n鈥檈st pas bilingue et des ressources ne sont pas toujours offertes en fran莽ais, explique-t-elle. De plus, le programme renforce notre sentiment d鈥檃ppartenance 脿 la communaut茅. Une entreprise de traduction diff猫re beaucoup d鈥檜ne entreprise traditionnelle. Je n鈥檃i toutefois eu aucun mal 脿 obtenir des r茅ponses satisfaisantes 脿 mes questions. 禄

Mme聽Cooper-Saint-Cyr faisait partie des 茅tudiants et 茅tudiantes ayant remport茅 la comp茅tition entrepreneuriale de l鈥檃nn茅e pr茅c茅dente, organis茅e par GENIAL et commandit茅e par le groupe Desjardins, qui avait contribu茅 plus de 775鈥�000聽$ 脿 cette initiative ainsi qu鈥櫭犅爈鈥檌nitiative ELLA de YSpace 鈥� qui est consacr茅e aux femmes entrepreneures 颅鈥�, afin de renforcer ces deux acc茅l茅rateurs. Ce don a permis non seulement de r茅pondre aux besoins en infrastructure de l鈥檌ncubateur GENIAL et de son programme Passeport Comp茅tences entrepreneuriales (PCE), mais aussi de fournir des ressources pour la composante d鈥櫭ヾucation exp茅rientielle des cours, notamment pour la cr茅ation d鈥檈ntreprises 脿 vocation sociale, ainsi que pour le cours sur les projets d鈥檈ntrepreneuriat. De plus, il a permis d鈥檃jouter des modules au programme PCE et de fournir un financement d鈥檃mor莽age aux 茅tudiant飧眅飧眘 entrepreneur飧眅飧眘.

芦聽Nous avons pu passer 脿 la vitesse sup茅rieure聽禄, d茅clare Angelo Dossou-Yovo, professeur agr茅g茅 de gestion et d鈥檈ntrepreneuriat et fondateur de l鈥檌nitiative GENIAL en 2017. 脌 ce jour, 64聽茅tudiantes et 茅tudiants ont acquis des connaissances en entrepreneuriat gr芒ce au programme PCE.

Cette ann茅e encore, la comp茅tition du 26 septembre offrira aux 茅tudiantes et 茅tudiants d茅sireux de d茅velopper leur esprit d鈥檈ntrepreneuriat la possibilit茅 de pr茅senter leur projet et d鈥檕btenir un financement d鈥檃mor莽age. 

脌 son arriv茅e 脿 Glendon, M. Dossou-Yovo enseignait le commerce dans le cadre du programme de double dipl么me en quatre ans du coll猫ge universitaire, qui donne aux 茅tudiant飧眅飧眘 la possibilit茅 de combiner deux ann茅es d鈥櫭﹖udes 脿 Glendon avec deux ann茅es 脿 l鈥櫭塩ole de commerce emlyon en France afin d鈥檕btenir un baccalaur茅at international 猫s arts (i.B.A.) en 茅tudes internationales et un baccalaur茅at en administration des affaires (B.A.A.).

Cependant, quand il a r茅alis茅 l鈥檈ngouement des jeunes universitaires pour le d茅veloppement de comp茅tences entrepreneuriales, il a souhait茅 lancer un projet unique en son genre pour la population francophone et bilingue.

芦 Dans le cadre de cette initiative, nous tentons de d茅velopper un esprit d鈥檈ntreprise en nous concentrant sur les premi猫res 茅tapes du cycle de vie d鈥檜ne entreprise. Nous examinons les moyens de d茅finir et de d茅velopper des occasions d鈥檃ffaires, c鈥檈st-脿-dire savoir si un projet vaut la peine qu鈥檕n y consacre du temps, de l鈥檃rgent et des ressources 脿 long terme. Tout commence par la r茅solution de probl猫mes, la recherche, l鈥櫭﹙aluation et la validation de possibilit茅s commerciales pour maximiser les chances de r茅ussite 禄, explique M. Dossou-Yovo.

芦 Nous aidons les entrepreneur飧眅飧眘 en herbe et les personnes int茅ress茅es par l鈥檈ntrepreneuriat 脿 d茅velopper des comp茅tences entrepreneuriales qu鈥檈lles pourront exploiter plus tard, soit pour cr茅er une entreprise, soit pour chercher un emploi dans des organisations o霉 les comp茅tences entrepreneuriales sont n茅cessaires. 禄

Gr芒ce au programme Passeport Comp茅tences entrepreneuriales de 15 semaines propos茅es dans le cadre du projet GENIAL, Mme Cooper-Saint-Cyr a pu d茅velopper les comp茅tences n茅cessaires pour cr茅er sa propre entreprise de traduction. Cela s鈥檈st fait bien bien plus t么t que pr茅vu. Bien qu鈥檈lle n鈥檃it pas de formation commerciale, elle s鈥檈st sentie au bon endroit.

芦 J鈥檃i re莽u beaucoup d鈥檃ide tout au long du processus. Je n鈥檃i jamais remis mon choix en question parce que j鈥檃i continu茅 脿 recevoir le support n茅cessaire, ce qui 茅tait formidable. Quand on s鈥檈ngage dans un tel programme, on veut avoir l鈥檌mpression d鈥櫭猼re sur un pied d鈥櫭ゞalit茅 et d鈥檃pprendre au m锚me rythme que tout le monde. 禄

La derni猫re 茅tape, la comp茅tition 芦 pitch publique 禄, permet aux jeunes entrepreneurs et entrepreneures d鈥檃pprendre 脿 pr茅senter les atouts de leur entreprise aupr猫s de futurs partenaires, dans l鈥檈spoir d鈥檕btenir un financement pour en acc茅l茅rer le d茅veloppement.

M锚me si Mme Cooper-Saint-Cyr ne savait pas trop 脿 quoi s鈥檃ttendre lorsqu鈥檈lle a commenc茅, elle affirme que les r茅sultats ont d茅pass茅 toutes ses esp茅rances. Au bout de quelques mois seulement 鈥� avec quelques interruptions pour se consacrer 脿 ses 茅tudes 鈥�, elle a fond茅 son entreprise et obtenu plusieurs contrats.

芦 C鈥櫭﹖ait incroyable. Ils s鈥檡 prennent tr猫s bien et ils savent quand il faut pousser et quand on peut prendre un peu de recul. Ils nous aident 脿 continuer d鈥檃vancer quand on a des doutes. 禄

Mme Cooper-Saint-Cyr cherche maintenant 脿 d茅velopper son entreprise et 脿 bonifier son offre de services.

芦 Je pense, d茅clare M. Dossou-Yovo, que c鈥檈st un bel exemple de r茅ussite qui n鈥檃urait pas 茅t茅 possible sans l鈥檃cc猫s 脿 l鈥檌nitiative GENIAL durant ses 茅tudes 脿 Glendon. 禄

C鈥檈st aussi une autre fa莽on pour des organisations comme Desjardins d鈥檃ider 91亚色 脿 susciter des changements positifs aujourd鈥檋ui et 脿 l鈥檃venir.

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