Today, the Asper School of Business, in partnership with Manitoba Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade, will announce the 2010 Manitoba Venture Challenge.

The announcement event, scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Asper School, will include Peter Bjornson, Minister of Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade, Province of Manitoba; Robert Warren, I. H. Asper Executive Director for Entrepreneurship, Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship, Asper School of Business; Glenn Feltham, Dean of the Asper School of Business; and John Alho, Associate Vice-President (External), University of Manitoba.

The Manitoba Venture Challenge (MVC), launched in 2008 to wide acclaim, is a province-wide competition open to new and existing businesses seeking outside investment or in need of advice in order to launch or expand. The competition is open to businesses in all sectors except bars, restaurants and resource extraction. The 2009 Manitoba Venture Challenge was highly successful, with finalists presenting plans on products ranging from GPS tracking devices to organic food.

This year the MVC has been expanded to include “3 Steps to Success” to help the lead entrepreneur or management team at each step of development, from idea to investor ready plan and presentation.

Under the new theme, the MVC will offer three independent streams to participants depending on their venture’s stage of development:
(1)    Idea to Product
(2)    Launch Pad
(3)    Business Accelerator Financing

The program will continue to place great emphasis on education with each stream of the program focusing on providing feedback as well as identifying for the entrepreneurs the next challenges they will need to address. The MVC will wrap up with the final events in June 2010.

This year’s edition of the MVC builds on comments received from last year’s participants and now recognizes business at all stages of development.  “The Manitoba Venture Challenge is an excellent way for managers and entrepreneurs to look at their business in a new light,” said Robert Warren, I.H. Asper Executive Director for Entrepreneurship.

“Manitoba Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade is excited to once again, be able to work with the Asper School on this project as we have witness tremendous growth in the Manitoba businesses that participated in previous years.  This really showed at the Banff Venture Forum as we were held out as an excellent model for other jurisdictions to copy” said Jim Kilgour, Executive Director, Financial Service Branch, Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade.

What:   Launch of the 2010 Manitoba Venture Challenge
Date:   November 24, 2009
Time:   10 a.m.
Location:   4th Floor Lounge Balcony, Asper School, 181 Freedman Cres., University of Manitoba

For more information contact Robert Warren, I. H. Asper Executive Director for Entrepreneurship, Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship, Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba at (204) 474-8422 or visit www.umanitoba.ca/entrepreneur