Saint John, NB - This Thursday, May 15th, the five finalists of the Aliant Business Plan Competition will compete for the coveted $4,000 prize at the University of New Brunswick Saint John.

The finalists will present their plans to four judges from the community. The judges will look for presentations that demonstrate a good idea, while also showing the project to be commercially viable.

The five finalists chosen to present their business plans to judges are Jason MacLean, Ashley Durdle, Carter Thompson and Jean-Claude St. John, Alex Palmer, and Mohamed Makawi. Their business plans represent diverse enterprises, ranging from a new middle-eastern restaurant to a company selling heritage radiators.

The goal of the Aliant Business Plan Competition is to encourage young people to start thinking about entrepreneurship, and to provide them with an opportunity to advance a business idea by going through the process of developing a business plan.

Past winners like, S’eramik, a paint-your-own pottery studio on Union Street, have used their $4,000 prize money to help with start-up costs for their business.

Next Thursday’s finalists’ presentations are open to the public. They will take place in the Ganong Hall Lecture Theatre at UNBSJ from 2 – 5 p.m. Immediately following the presentations, a public reception will take place in the Whitebone Lounge where this year’s winner will be announced.

The Aliant Business Plan Competition is organized by Enterprise Saint John’s Emerging Entrepreneurs program, and is supported by the Province of New Brunswick, [here], 97.3 The Wave, and UNBSJ.

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Janet Scott
Project Coordinator, Emerging Entrepreneurs, Enterprise Saint John
506.632.6131, Join our Emerging Entrepreneurs' Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=29522095472