TORONTO, Ontario, November 5, 2007 – Today’s youth are bringing new perspectives and approaches to business that will improve Canada’s competitiveness in the global economy. Influential business leaders and entrepreneurs are getting a first-hand glimpse at some of Canada’s future leaders at this year’s Impact Leadership Conference presented by the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). Impact will be hosting 500 student leaders and young entrepreneurs from over 70 high schools, colleges and universities from across Canada in Toronto on November 9th and 10th. “Today's businesses compete in an increasingly complex environment, where many of the challenges of the global marketplace, including technological advances, emerging economies, and access to skilled labour, can also represent significant opportunities,” says Michel Bergeron, Vice-President Corporate Relations of BDC. “Supporting Impact is a natural fit for BDC. Encouraging entrepreneurship to youth early will lead to a more knowledge-based and innovation-driven environment in Canada”.Internationally renowned entrepreneurs, such as Michael Lee-Chin, Chairman of Portland Holdings and recent $30 million donor to the Royal Ontario Museum, will be sharing their time, experiences and advice with this esteemed group of student leaders. Today’s youth acknowledge their responsibility to give back and are starting early. The event is supporting Free The Children through a charity auction and social entrepreneurship will be the theme of Nobel Peace Prize nominee and Free The Children founder Craig Kielburger’s talk.“We are pleased to partner with BDC to host this year’s conference, where student leaders and young entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to network, learn and share ideas on how to better position themselves and their ventures to succeed in the future”, says Kunal Gupta, Founder and Chair of the Impact Entrepreneurship Group. “The conference is one of many programs run by Impact, which has grown into one of Canada’s largest student entrepreneurship organizations in a few short years”.BDC is the Title Partner for the event. The conference is also being supported by: the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, Deloitte, the Government of Ontario, IBM, Infusion Development, MasterCard, the Ontario Centres of Excellence, Research In Motion and the University of Waterloo.About BDCBDC is a financial institution wholly owned by the Government of Canada. BDC actively supports the development and growth of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses through its complementary financial, investment and consulting solutions. About the Impact Entrepreneurship GroupImpact is a non-profit, student-run organization dedicated to encouraging an entrepreneurial spirit amongst youth in Canada and becoming a starting point for youth interested in learning about entrepreneurship. More information is available online, www.impact.org.
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For more information contact:Simon Wong Director, Public Relations Impact Entrepreneurship Group(416) 876-4822 simon.wong@impact.org
Contact: Johanne BissonnetteManager, Media Relations514-283-7929Contact by email
