SUMMERSIDE – Jan. 13, 2015 – A brand new entrepreneurial coaching program launched Tuesday will not only provide an opportunity for francophone immigrant entrepreneurs to learn how Islanders do business but will also give local entrepreneurs a chance to learn new and innovative ways of doing business globally.

This coaching program was developed through RDÉE Prince Edward Island’s LIENS project (Linking Economic Immigration to Our Successes). LIENS coordinator Catherine Rioux explained during a Members’ Luncheon in Summerside Tuesday that the new program truly provides a win-win formula for everyone involved.

First of all, she noted that the LIENS project had been conceived to facilitate the overall integration of newcomers into the Island workforce. Its new coaching program however is aimed directly at immigrants who want to start a business.

« Quite often, these entrepreneurs have previously owned a business in another country but they don’t necessarily know the ins and outs of doing business here on PEI. They don’t know what kind of support services are available to them, » said Rioux. « This new coaching program offers them, over a six-month period, the support of a local entrepreneur or business person who really knows the ropes of the Island business world. »

At the same time that a coach is showing a newcomer the Island approach, he will also learn how his protégé did business in his home country; some of his ways of doing things could very well be adapted to work here on PEI, she added.

TO GUIDE AND INSPIRE

Rioux said the coach is not there to manage the new business nor to take any decisions. He is simply there to guide and inspire the newcomer. The coach and the coached are asked to meet on a regular basis over six months and to submit regular little progress reports to project leaders.

The coordinator noted she is now seeking participants, both immigrant entrepreneurs and local business people, for the program, which is slated to get under way for a first six-month round in September. Any interested party is urged to contact Rioux at (902) 370-7333, Ext. 404, or at catherine@redeeipe.org.

The LIENS project is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada as well as the PEI Office of Immigration, Settlement and Population.

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CUTLINE: Catherine Rioux, coordinator of RDÉE PEI’s LIENS project, chats about the newly launched Coaching Program for immigrant entrepreneurs with potential coach Henri Gallant from HMS Office Supplies in Summerside Tuesday.

For more information:
Catherine Rioux
Coordinator
LIENS project and Coaching Program
(902) 370-7333, Ext. 404
catherine@rdeeipe.org