Five dynamic young women from Collège Saint-Sacrement in Terrebonne have won several awards, including the coveted “Business of the Year 2021” award at the Future Business Leaders Annual Gala, as part of JA Québec’s Student Business program.
Their company Mahalo, which makes handmade, 100% natural bath salts, won 1st place for “Company of the Year“. The company also won 1st place in the “Best Product“, “Best Website” and “Best JA Video” categories. In addition, young entrepreneur Alyssa Santos, a member of the Mahalo team, was also the winner of the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award. The young entrepreneurs were awarded scholarships in each of these categories. The jury was composed of business people from several regions of Quebec.
The Mahalo team will represent Quebec at the Canadian National Company of the Year Competition this summer, organized by Junior Achievement Canada.
Despite the pandemic, the 5 young entrepreneurs have succeeded in building a profitable business with incredible potential. They intend to continue their entrepreneurial adventure over the next few years. JA Québec will continue to accompany them on their journey and support them in the realization of their project.
The Company Program offers young people in Secondary 4 and 5 the opportunity to work together to create a business, in school or after school, under the supervision of mentors from the business community. They learn not only how to manage the various operations related to the launch and management of a business, but also how to implement sales strategies, manage a budget and create a business card, a website and a video clip. The youth are also invited to participate in contests, trade shows, business presentations and an entrepreneurship conference. The goal is to develop leadership, collaboration, teamwork and initiative, and to create the leaders and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
JA Québec is a 59-year-old NPO in Quebec whose mission is to inspire and educate youth aged 10 to 18 about entrepreneurship, job readiness and finances. In addition to the Student Business program for Secondary 4 and 5 students, the organization also offers school programs in the form of half-day workshops given free of charge by business people in elementary and secondary schools. The organization is part of the JA (Junior Achievement) family, which has been in existence for over 100 years and is present in 115 countries around the world.
