SPOTLIGHT
Supporting Canada’s young entrepreneurs
Trophies recognizing the 2021 MNP Future Leaders winners.
Canada is home to millions of the enterprising, creative, and innovative minds we need right now. But few young people ever follow their entrepreneurial dreams or reach their full potential — not because they lack good ideas, but because they lack the guidance and financing to get their ideas off the ground.
That’s why MNP has chosen youth entrepreneurship as the national focus of our Communities Forward program. We think there’s a real opportunity to help level the playing field and ensure every young, promising business owner has the chance to succeed and apply their ideas for the collective benefit — regardless where they live or their economic background.
One such initiative that is already making a massive impact is the MNP Future Leaders program.
Future Leaders: MNP Peel Region
Future Leaders is an annual MNP-hosted entrepreneurship competition which encourages young business leaders between the ages of 18 and 40 to pursue their dreams of building a successful enterprise. The top three finalists each receive one year of professional monthly mentoring from an MNP Business Advisor, along with a one-year membership with their local board of trade and media consultation with public relations experts.
However, the process is arguably just as important as the prize. To enter, each nominee submits their concept to our selection committee for review. Our committee then meticulously scrutinizes each business plan for innovation potential, a commitment to exceptional business ethics, and a clear plan for future growth. When we find our finalists, we invite each one to pitch their idea to local business leaders and MNP advisors.
This introduces participants to the real-world process of creating compelling business plans, selling those plans to potential investors, and (hopefully) bringing their business to market. Thanks to the extensive support of our numerous community partners, it also helps broaden their network and strengthen their connections with local educators and business leaders.
Regardless whether an individual ultimately earns recognition as an MNP Future Leader, they have the unique advantage of rolling out their business idea in a realistic, but comparatively low-consequence environment. They can identify and address many of its shortcomings without bearing the outsized financial costs.
Our winners have shown incredible promise, too. In 2020, the Government of Canada contracted 2018 Future Leader James Yurichuk, founder of Wuxly Movement, to deliver $43.8 million worth of medical gowns to address the COVID-19 pandemic. He says he doubts it would have been possible without having MNP as a mentor and partner.
“James has really underscored the power of this initiative,” says MNP Partner Sean Crewe. “One of our inaugural winners isn’t only showing business success — his business is on the front lines of addressing a once in a hundred-year crisis.
“We’re not crowning Future Leaders. We’re just making certain that they can shine.”
"The variety of support offered (by MNP) was invaluable," said Akeem Gardner, MNP Future Leader 2020. "The MNP mentors have been excellent and have helped us to remain focused and thinking about how to grow our business, and how to structure it for growth in the ideal manner."