Canadian charity, The Forum, has announced the three winners of this year’s Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale. The event is aimed at mentoring, educating and empowering women entrepreneurs in their business endeavors, and the three finalists each received a grand prize package worth $37,750 to help fund and fast-track their business goals.
The recipients of the Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Program 2023 are Carlyn Loncaric, Founder & CEO of VodaSafe; Mehwish Panjwani and Kelly Thomson, Co-Founders of QUIL; and Mehrsa Raeiszadeh, Co-Founder & COO of MintList.
“We congratulate the recipients and all participants of this year’s The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch program as we continue to raise the bar for what it means to invest in women entrepreneurs today,” says Paulina Cameron, CEO of The Forum.
The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch program introduced a new prizing format this year, which awards not one but three finalists with prize packages, enabling even more women entrepreneurs and their businesses to thrive. The prize packages include financial, social, and knowledge capitals, from monetary funds to coaching and services such as legal, marketing, and social media.
The audience also voted and selected VodaSafe to receive an additional prize package valued at $20,000 thanks to the generosity of Capital Sponsor Wheaton Precious Metals and Community Impact Partner, Good Eggs & Co.
To celebrate this year’s program and participants, The Forum hosted its annual Odlum Brown Forum Pitch Finale event on April 27th at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver. The three finalists presented their business visions to a sold-out crowd of entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, and The Forum community, as well as viewers from across Canada who tuned in virtually.
The evening was hosted by television personality Sonia Mangat, with a special video message by the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and a silent auction.
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