25 June 2014

Sherbrooke Innopole proudly congratulates two Sherbrooke companies, La Fabrique and Sigma Energy Storage Inc., which took home second prize in their respective categories in the Business Creation component of the 2014 Québec Entrepreneurship Contest’s provincial finals.

In the Social Economy category, the solidarity cooperative La Fabrique was awarded second place and a $5000 bursary. This venture provides a shared workshop where projects can be undertaken using a vast assortment of shared tools. The project is the result of the joint efforts of Julien Lamarche, David Allard-Martin, Pier-Olivier Baillargeon, Joé Blais, Étienne Plante, David Beaudette, Francis Poisson-Gagnon, and Catherine Villeneuve.

For its part, Sigma Energy Storage Inc. won second prize in the Technological and Technical Innovations category. Run by Martin Larocque, Mohamed Laaroussi, and Abdel Fettah Bannari, the company designs, manufactures, and markets an innovative energy storage solution.

Two other Sherbrooke businesses were in the running at the Contest’s grand finale—Crémanimo and Pronature Sherbrooke.

Record participation

Participation in the 16^th edition of the Québec Entrepreneurship Contest was exceptional, with 56 914 participants representing 4100 projects in the two components: Business Creation and Student Entrepreneurship.

The Desjardins Grand Prize Gala took place on June 18, 2014 at the Québec City Convention Centre, under the honorary chairmanship of Caroline Néron, President and owner of Groupe Néron.

A total of $202 000 in prizes was awarded, with 33 prizes presented to the winners from the province’s 17 regions.

Source: Concours québécois en entrepreneuriat