Posted May. 25/06
On March 16, three teams of savvy Carleton students pitched their business plans to a team of five tough judges at the sixth annual Wes Nicol Business Plan Competition hosted by the Sprott School of Business. At stake, a $6,000 prize, the chance to compete for the national prize on March 23, and the motivation to turn their business ideas into reality.
After beating out 30 other teams to make the finals, each group had 20 minutes to present its plan and answer questions. Alia El Banna, MBA/03, and Sharif Higazy, fourth year international business (pictured below) of Mosaic Productions came out on top.
Mosaic offers a variety of audiovisual products, particularly for Muslim children. Banna and Higazy have already created an educational video in English and Arabic and designed a puppet for their Jaber School series. “We believe Jaber School to the Muslim world is similar to what Elmo meant to the West,” Higazy told the judges.
“These were three very good teams. This strength demonstrates why Carleton is a leading institution for up and coming entrepreneurs,” says John Callahan, the competition coordinator and an associate professor in the Sprott School of Business.
The national competition was won by University of Alberta students who founded a company that develops software-based tools and services for podcasting, a method of distributing audio and video files over the Internet.
The award is funded by Wes Nicol, BA/54, an Ottawa lawyer and businessman who established the permanent awards program for student entrepreneurs.