Ottawa – The City of Ottawa will present its first annual Ottawa Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards at the Ottawa Immigration Forum at City Hall on Monday, October 1, 2012. The forum, organized by the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP), will focus on the theme of “valuing and leveraging the contributions of immigrants for greater prosperity and vibrancy.”

Nominations for local immigrant entrepreneurs should be submitted by e-mail to entrepreneur@ottawa.ca no later than September 14, 2012. The submission should include the nominee’s contact information, their year of immigration to Canada, their current number of employees, a description of their business products or services, and a concise summary of no more than 500 words of the entrepreneur’s contribution to business development and the local economy. Two references should also be named, with contact information provided, who can corroborate the claims of the nominee.

The new Ottawa Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards are an opportunity to celebrate the valuable contributions of immigrant business people in our City and to inspire and encourage other immigrants in Ottawa to consider starting or operating businesses here.

Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of eight business and community leaders who are looking for inspirational stories about individuals who have come to Ottawa and built businesses of all sizes.

Submissions will be evaluated in the following entrepreneur business categories:

• Youth business entrepreneurs (under 35 years old)
• Women entrepreneurs
• Innovation-oriented enterprises
• Social enterprises (with a social, environmental or cultural mandate as the primary concern of the business)
• Fast-growth enterprises

In their deliberations, the panel will consider candidates’ track record of job creation, business mentorship, and other ways they have contributed to the development of the local economy.

The Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP) was founded in October 2009 by the City of Ottawa and Local Agencies Serving Immigrants (LASI). The partnership is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada with the mandate of improving local capacity to attract, settle and integrate immigrants.

For more information about the award nominations, please contact the nomination coordinator at:
613-580-2424, ext. 16663

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