International

CURRICULUM COMPONENTS
LECTURES
Students participate in lectures facilitated by YEDI professors, providing a solid foundation in Canadian business theory and economics. Theory examined includes entrepreneurship, marketing and sales strategy, business development and growth, finance, and communication skills.

SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS
A successful entrepreneur quickly needs to learn where s/he lacks expertise and requires a network of support. Students will participate in seminars and workshops, facilitated by YEDI professors, that will prepare them for real-life application of theory in Canada, to achieve inspiration, ideation, and implementation. Topics include: visioning & environmental scanning, financial planning, and legal matters of Canadian business.

MENTORSHIP
Entrepreneurs will be matched with subject matter experts across diverse industries. The YEDI Program Manager will ensure that volunteer mentors from pertinent sectors are available for valuable insight, problem-solving, and networking opportunities.

PEER CLUSTERS & MILESTONES
Entrepreneurs often benefit by sharing best practices, challenges, and accomplishments with one another. The YEDI Program Manager coordinates regular entrepreneur cluster meetings to facilitate constructive feedback, group exercises, and peer-support. Students are also expected to complete milestone deliverables that are assigned to guide the business development process. Each milestone and achieved goal will form a component of the final proof-of-concept, with which the entrepreneur will graduate the program.

VENTURE FAIR
Entrepreneurs need as many opportunities as possible to showcase their companies. Upon successful completion of the accelerator program, YEDI participants will present their businesses at the exclusive Venture Fair and pitch for the opportunity to receive funding from YEDI?s own venture capital fund, as well as potential financing from other members of our investor audience. Successful entrepreneurs will also have the opportunity to obtain a Letter of Support from an angel investor group, a venture capital fund or a business incubator in attendance who are designated by the Government of Canada under its Start-Up Visa immigration stream.

The Venture Fair provides a concrete opportunity for entrepreneurs to showcase their business plan, models, and milestones to an investor audience, as well as create Canadian industry partnerships that will take their venture to the next step in development and success.

COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT
A business will not survive in a competitive market if it lacks customer service, people management skills, and is unable to relate well to clients, vendors, and staff. Students will take in both a lecture and a seminar involving key components of business communication skills. Our partner NCCA Canada helps entrepreneurs with their business branding, writing, communication tactics and pitch presentations, tailored specifically for the Canadian and North American market.

ELIGIBILITY
Applicant is the venture?s founder; co-founder(s) will be considered;
Any adult age or background;
A unique and innovative idea that is in raw, seed, early, or growth stage;
For-profit startup
Applicant(s) is able to travel to program location. Successful applicants will receive a letter of invitation from YEDI, in order to obtain an appropriate travel visa;
An ability to communicate in an English equivalent to a minimum of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5;