Futurpreneur Celebrates 30 Years, Names Six Award Winners and Seven Hall of Fame Founders

Futurpreneur marked its 30th anniversary on October 28, 2026 by naming six national award winners and inducting the founders of seven Canadian companies into its inaugural Founders Hall of Fame. The Toronto event was co-presented by RBC and BDC, according to GlobeNewswire.

Futurpreneur's Awards Night at MaRS Centre

Futurpreneur is a Canadian non-profit founded in 1996 that provides collateral-free loans of up to $75,000, mentorship and business-planning tools to entrepreneurs ages 18-39 across all provinces and territories. The celebration at Toronto's MaRS Centre capped a seven-month national awards campaign that drew thousands of nominations and more than 12,000 public votes.

Ingrid Broussillon, founder of Vancouver-based Griottes Polyglottes, received the $30,000 People's Choice Award. Corey Anderson of Ingaged Creative Productions Inc. in Fort William First Nation, Ontario, received a $10,000 Entrepreneur Award; the Indigenous-owned company employs 27 people and has distributed more than $1 million to Indigenous artists since 2020. Paul Griffin and Eric Doucet of Toronto's The Sales Factory, and Rachelle Séguin and Andrea Gomez of Quebec City's Omy Laboratoires, each received $10,000 Entrepreneur Awards. Tariq Al Barwani received the Mentor Award, and OSEntreprendre received the Community Partner Award.

RBC co-presented the event and its Rock My Business Start-up Awards, which celebrated eight aspiring young entrepreneurs from seven provinces. Sean Amato-Gauci, Group Head of RBC Commercial Banking, said the bank had "just renewed and expanded that commitment for the years ahead." BDC co-presented the celebration; Miguel Barrieras, its Chief Community Banking and Impact Officer, said BDC's Community Banking works with partners like Futurpreneur.

Futurpreneur's Founders Hall of Fame Inductees

The inaugural Hall of Fame class includes Joanna Griffiths of Knix, which reached a US$400-million valuation before exiting this summer, and Noura Sakkijha of Mejuri, which has more than 60 stores. Harry Chemko of Elastic Path, Ken LeBlanc and Jeremy Demont of PropertyGuys.com, Vincent Leclerc and David Parent of PixMob, Marc-André Campagna and Francis Careau of a telecom startup that became a gaiia subsidiary, and brothers Josh, Chris and Dan Simair of Skip were also inducted.

Futurpreneur's Funding and Program Record

According to akta.pro company records, Futurpreneur has supported more than 21,000 young entrepreneurs and provided $259 million in start-up loans, with more than 16,600 businesses launched. The records list a $60 million grant led by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada in November 2024 and a $14 million grant led by the Government of Canada in February 2015. In May 2026, Visa selected Futurpreneur as its exclusive Canadian non-profit partner for the 'Tap In to Impact' program, contributing $275,000 CAD.

Futurpreneur's Application Growth and G20 Delegation

In July 2026, BetaKit reported that Futurpreneur recorded a 50-percent surge in program applications nationwide and a 65-percent increase in Alberta during the latest fiscal quarter, building on a 15-percent rise the prior year. In June 2026, the Financial Post reported that Futurpreneur announced 40 young Canadian entrepreneurs selected to represent Canada at the G20 Young Entrepreneurs' Alliance Summit in Vienna, Austria, from September 16-18, 2026.

Karen Greve Young, Futurpreneur's CEO, said: "When young entrepreneurs get the financing, mentorship and support they need, they turn their ambitions into thriving businesses that create jobs and strengthen communities across Canada."