Global Entrepreneur Week

Fostering entrepreneurship across the Eastern Townships

OSEntreprendre is highlighting “Global Entrepreneur Week” by coordinating conferences in schools across the province. Photo courtesy Isabelle Lodge.

By Taylor McClure
Townships’ Daily News Bits
CIDI 99.1 FM 

OSEntreprendre is highlighting “Global Entrepreneur Week” by coordinating conferences in schools across the province. 

With a mission to foster entrepreneurship in Quebec, over 27,000 students from elementary school up to university will participate in the organizations’s “Semaine des entrepreneurs à l’école” (Entrepreneurs’ Week at school). 

From Nov. 14 to 25, students will have a chance to connect with entrepreneurs from their communities through in-class presentations. 

This year, students from the Eastern Townships region are taking part in the initiative organized by the representative regional branch Entreprendre Sherbrooke and Lodge Events. 

“What it does is to basically allow schools to ask for an entrepreneur to come speak to their class about why they became an entrepreneur and try to inspire the youth to maybe make that choice, one day in their lives, to run their own business,” said Isabelle Lodge, owner of Lodge Events and coordinator of the “Semaine des entrepreneurs à l’école” for Entreprendre Sherbrooke. 

Lodge noted that she tries to book the maximum amount of conferences possible. 

“We have a province that strives off of having small and medium businesses.(…) I think that for rural areas anyways, having people create and start a business is kind of key to the economic development of that region,” she said. 

While schools have the typical “Career Day,” Lodge noted that “Semaine des entrepreneurs à l’école” has one specific goal. 

“Those are super important, but we never talked much about entrepreneurship, we talk about different careers. This is really with one goal and I say that to all of my entrepreneurs. I don’t need you to speak about what your business is,” explained Lodge. “I need you to speak about you, what you were like at school, did you always think you’d be an entrepreneur, what you love about being and entrepreneur. It’s a very personal conference.”

Over 60 conferences will be given in the Eastern Townships by over 29 entrepreneurs. This includes a new relationship with schools in the Brome-Missisquoi and Haut-Yamaska regions. Five French schools in Brome-Missisquoi are participating this year. 

Lodge emphasized that Entreprendre Sherbrooke and OSEntreprendre are working hard to establish its relationship with English-language schools, with Massey-Vanier High School having expressed interest in the initiative. 

“It’s an exciting couple of weeks and I think it’s especially exciting for the kids of all ages that get the opportunity to hear these stories,” mentioned Lodge.

It could be nice to know, said Lodge, that these two weeks are a stepping stone into the “OSEntreprendre Challenge.”

“Which is contest so that schools, classrooms, groups can create an entrepreneurship project, and by March 15 send their registration, explain their project, and there’s a lot of opportunity to win prizes, to win visibility, to win money for your school,” she highlighted. 

For more information on OSEntreprendre and its initiatives.

Listen to the full interview below: