QBR.A Quebecor Inc

2024 Pierre Péladeau Bursaries Recipients Announced

MONTRÉAL, June 13, 2024 /CNW/ - Quebecor and asterX are pleased to announce the winners of the 26th edition of the Pierre Péladeau Bursaries this morning at Le Sommet, an annual entrepreneurship gathering. Founded in 1998 to support student entrepreneurship, the competition granted, again this year, five bursaries totaling $200,000 to empower business ventures led by promising young local entrepreneurs. This financial support, coupled with mentorship, aims to assist university students in bringing their innovative business ideas to fruition, with a mission to generate a positive impact on society.

"We are delighted to see young entrepreneurs pursuing ingenious business projects, that have the potential to contribute to the transformation of important areas for Québec, such as robotics, artificial intelligence, the reduction of our ecological footprint, and the digitization of the service industry. Like the great builder my father was, this new generation of visionaries wants to change the world, and it's our duty to propel them!", says Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO of Quebecor.

"In addition to providing financial support, we want to build long-term relationships with the Pierre Péladeau Bursaries recipients, notably by facilitating access to several Quebecor resources, as well as a network of peers to inspire them along their journey", added Pelra Azondekon, Managing Director, asterX. "I would also like to highlight the colossal work carried out by university entrepreneurship centers and incubators. Together, we annually deploy efforts towards promoting an even greater and diverse pool of applicants composed of Québec entrepreneurs from all horizons".

Congratulations to the 2023 Pierre Péladeau Bursaries recipients!

Watch the video announcement showcasing the recipients and learn more about their projects here.

$75,000 bursary - Tessellate Robotics 

Simon-Pierre Deschênes, Dominic Baril and Pierre-Hugo Vigneux | Université Laval

Tessellate Robotics brilliantly combines robotics and autonomous navigation technology to increase productivity in a variety of niche markets, such as agriculture, defense, and mining. In particular, the company has developed an automated field inspection solution enabling farmers to better identify the needs of their fields, increase yields, and move towards more sustainable and responsible agriculture.

$50,000 bursary - Encore! Biomatériaux

Alexandre Savard and Nicolas Jourdan-Gassin | Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières

Encore! Biomatériaux develops and markets 100% compostable packaging made from upcycled agri-food waste. Its solutions empower businesses to replace single-use plastic components with packaging with a decomposition rate tailored to the product's lifespan.

$35,000 bursary - Phoenix Impact

Fiona Milano and Maxime Dimidschstein | Polytechnique Montréal

Phoenix Impact's mission is to reduce plastic waste from the life sciences industry by over 80%. The company has designed an innovative industrial washer to recondition laboratory consumables which provides a sustainable alternative to incineration through reuse.

$25,000 bursary - Armonía

Julia Kolta and Dhandre Weekes | HEC Montréal

Armonía markets an innovative software solution for the beauty and hairdressing industry. Its customer-accessible digital platform offers a simple and convenient way to identify and book personalized services. At the same time, its business management software enables companies to reach a wider audience while optimizing their activities, adding value for both SMEs and consumers in the sector.

$15,000 bursary - BoundaryAi 

Hippolyte Lapierre, Madeleine Philardeau, Eric Saikali and Victor Keroulle | McGill University

BoundaryAi develops a platform leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance employee engagement and well-being within an organization and improve the educational experience in academic environments. The company's solution aims to transform data from qualitative feedback into decision-making information, through optimized management and precision analysis.

Beyond the Pierre Péladeau Bursaries: Inspiring and Supporting the Youngest Generation of Entrepreneurs

Driven by a sincere desire to be a key ally for Québec's next generation of entrepreneurs, Quebecor, in collaboration with Éditions CEC, is particularly proud to foster the development of an entrepreneurial culture among younger students through concrete gestures since 2023. Last night, through the Défi OSEntreprendre, a long-standing partner of Quebecor, $35,000 in bursaries were awarded to 13 initiatives carried out by elementary, high school, college, and university students animated by their nascent entrepreneurial spirit.

One of the ingenious initiatives rewarded was that of 4th-grade students from École de la Source in Shawinigan who, after conducting a market study innovatively developed and commercialized nearly 4,000 affordable compostable bags made from recycled newspapers to inspire and encourage composting. Quebecor salutes the determination of these aspiring entrepreneurs and their teachers, who in their own way demonstrate that it's never too early to dare and dream.

Quebecor and asterX would like to highlight the dedication of the 30 members of the selection committees for each university, who were called upon to examine a high volume of promising applications from a wide range of sectors. The finalists' applications were then submitted to Quebecor's Jury, which had the pleasing duty of designating five winning business ventures that stood out by virtue of the high potential and degree of innovation of their solutions, and their social and environmental impact.

A special thank you to Quebecor's Jury members for the 26^th edition:

• Pelra Azondekon, Managing Director, asterX and Director, Corporate Venture Capital, Quebecor
• Jean B. Péladeau, Vice-President, Operational Convergence, Quebecor
• Chanel Damphousse, Partner, MacKinnon Bennett & Co. (MKB)
• Sylvie Lalande, Chair of the Board of Quebecor and Groupe TVA, Corporate Director
• Marc Leroux, President, Priorat Capital Inc.
• Érik Péladeau, President, Publication Alpha Inc.

For more than 70 years, Quebecor has been contributing to the economic, cultural, and social vitality of Québec, bringing about change by teaming up with local visionaries, creators, artisans, and the next generation. Driven by its entrepreneurial roots and a strong philanthropic commitment to more than 400 partners and organizations across Québec, Quebecor actively contributes to numerous initiatives that have an impact on the Québec culture, the environment, local entrepreneurs, its community and its employees.

The sum of these efforts gives our community the collective power to develop a stronger, more innovative economy, a richer, more diverse culture, and a healthier, more sustainable society.

Let's continue to build a proud and prosperous Québec. Together, let's cultivate the possible.

quebecor.com/social-engagementquebecor.com/en/social-engagement

asterX is a venture capital fund powered by Quebecor (TSX: QBR.A) (TSX: QBR.B). With a mission to cultivate boldness and entrepreneurial spirit, asterX leverages Quebecor's solid and diversified network and resources to create lasting human relationships and winning partnerships with like-minded entrepreneurs. It fosters the development of innovative solutions with the potential to create tangible value within Quebecor's business sectors and for our society. Through the asterX Capital fund, we offer capital and leading-edge expertise to the most promising start-ups, from seed to post-launch.

To find out more about asterX and the start-ups it supports, visit https://asterx.vc/en/.

SOURCE Québecor Média inc.