Jointly organised by the Sud-Ouest newspaper and the CCI of La Rochelle with, among others, Excelia as a partner, the Émergence business awards include the Graine d'entrepreneur, an award that recognises entrepreneurial projects carried out by students. 

Dominique Réau-Diet, Director of Corporate Relations & Careers, tells us more about this valuable initiative.

The Charente-Maritime Émergence business awards ceremony, which takes place on 9th June 2021, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Does the same apply to the Graine d'entrepreneur award?

The Graine d'entrepreneur award was introduced in 2014, so it's now in its seventh year. Students who are future business creators have the opportunity to present their project in just three minutes in front of hundreds of business leaders and professionals, a great opportunity to get themselves known. But the value in this initiative also lies in the support and guidance candidates receive in developing their ideas.

How does it work exactly?

At the beginning of October, the Directors of our Schools along with the Heads of Programmes informed the students about the award, notably by means of a video, and encouraged them to apply. In mid-October, the projects were collected and an academic panel selected the 10 projects eligible to enter the competition. The students, or teams of students, with these projects were then coached on "how to pitch" by Thierry Praud, Director of Communications at the CCI, and on the project content and business model aspect by Laurent Lefèvre, a consultant and Excelia graduate.

On the 17th December, the candidates were auditioned by a professional panel composed of elected members of the CCI, references in entrepreneurship, and the two finalists who would take to the stage were selected.

And the finalists are...?

The chosen finalists are two student groups from Year 2 of the Master in Management... one a creator of a marketplace and the other of ecotourism holidays in Charente-Maritime. Both projects will receive a grant of €1,000 from the Excelia Foundation. For the overall winner, to be decided on 9th June, this award leads to valuable development support and increased visibility for their project, as well as an enlarged network of contacts.

What has happened to finalists from previous years?

They have created their companies, which are still going strong! "Mademoiselle dit oui", "Les Saveurs du Cantal", "Cosmi"... entrepreneurial seeds that have successfully germinated, propelled by this remarkable springboard!