Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship

Leedana is bringing agriculture to the desert--and it got its start at Desautels

arsh.prakash@mcgill.ca — Thu, 05 Jun 2025 16:54:52 +0000

Egypt’s Nile River Valley has some of the most fertile land in the world. But most of the country is a barren desert where few plants can grow. Hassan Elrakhawy (BCom’24) wants to change that. The Egyptian-born entrepreneur founded Leedana, a startup that uses a technique called sandponics, which can reduce the amount of water needed to cultivate crops by up to 90%. The company already has farms in Egypt that grow cherry tomatoes, peppers, kale, lettuce and more. And other farms are under construction elsewhere.

��ϲ�� innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem ranked in the top 20 globally

arsh.prakash@mcgill.ca — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 16:59:27 +0000

Since its founding in 1988, the ��ϲ�� Dobson Centre for Entrepreneurship has supported thousands of ventures, helping create over 10,000 new jobs and raising $3.7 billion in funding. It consistently ranks among the world’s top university innovation ecosystems, including the lates rankings from New Ignition Schools. Sponsored by the magazines Inc. and Fast Company, the rankings chose the top 50 university innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.

New Internet Start-Up Hypejar Uses Social Media to Accurately Forecast Demand for Future Products

trang.nguyen@mcgill.ca — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 15:05:50 +0000

An online social platform that accurately forecasts future sales of new products has won first place at the Desautels Faculty of Management’s entrepreneurial competition, the Dobson Cup.

... Team leader and Desautels graduate Grant Yim (BCom'03) says “It is unique in the fact that there is nowhere else to find, in one place, information about products that have not yet been released. Also, existing market research organisations do not leverage social media, and as such their data is expensive and the sample sizes are smaller.”

Universities that Teach You to Change the World

trang.nguyen@mcgill.ca — Wed, 23 Oct 2013 19:03:10 +0000

Just three months after graduating this year from the University of Waterloo, Jonathan Rivard’s startup company had generated $130,000 in revenue.
... “It is a generational zeitgeist, no doubt about it,” says Anita Nowak, integrating director of the Social Economy Initiative, at ��ϲ�� University’s Desautels Faculty of Management in Montreal.
... The Dobson Cup is structured so that students present their ideas to a panel of experts over several months and successive rounds, competing for cash prizes and mentoring advice.

��ϲ�� Dobson Cup Boot Camp

trang.nguyen@mcgill.ca — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 15:52:45 +0000

The ��ϲ�� Dobson Cup (MDC) Start-UP Boot Camp is all about action, training, knowledge, and collaboration. You will learn from successful start-UP veterans, students, lawyers, as well as, through interactive activities with your peers. Keep your eyes open for potential business partners, they are all around you!

Lac-Mégantic: des étudiants proposent un incubateur entrepreneurial

joy.wang@mail.mcgill.ca — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 16:12:00 +0000

Cécile Branco, Ségolène Rolin et Bernard d'Arche, trois étudiants l'Université ��ϲ��, ont conçu un projet de centre d'innovation qui pourrait bien voir le jour dans le nouveau centre-ville méganticois. Leur Centre magnétique, un incubateur entrepreneurial, offrirait une rampe de lancement unique en région pour ceux qui souhaitent se lancer en affaires.

��ϲ�� students’ plans to help rebuild Lac-Mégantic win praise

joy.wang@mail.mcgill.ca — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 16:13:32 +0000

One year after a runaway train transporting oil plowed through the downtown core of Lac-Mégantic, igniting and razing much of the town’s commercial centre, three ��ϲ�� University students with a passion for social entrepreneurship have become part of the town’s efforts to rebuild.

Student initiative for Lac-Megantic

joy.wang@mail.mcgill.ca — Thu, 03 Jul 2014 18:07:16 +0000

Desautels students Bernard d'Arche and Cécile Branco discuss their Dobson Cup winning initiative on Breakfast Television Montreal.

View video here.

Reconstruire à l’heure de l’entrepreneuriat social

joy.wang@mail.mcgill.ca — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 15:12:08 +0000

Au cœur du centre-ville ravagé de Lac-Mégantic, créer une résidence pour développer et porter des projets d’entreprise. Voilà le plan que trois étudiants de l’Université ��ϲ�� — Cécile Branco-Côté, Ségolène Rolin et Bernard d’Arche — ont élaboré cet hiver lors d’un cours sur l’entrepreneuriat social. Aujourd’hui sur le point de devenir réalité, le « Centre magnétique » aura pour tâche de fédérer les innovations locales et de créer des synergies entre elles.

��ϲ�� student Bernard D'Arche, on helping to rebuild Lac Megantic

joy.wang@mail.mcgill.ca — Fri, 04 Jul 2014 15:14:18 +0000

Bernard d’Arche, ��ϲ�� Student [and one of the winners of the Dobson Cup], who came up with a unique idea to help rebuild Lac Megantic.

Listen: Tommy Schnurmacher Show

Entrepreneurs and big dreams shine at Montreal Startup Festival

joy.wang@mail.mcgill.ca — Tue, 15 Jul 2014 21:00:47 +0000

Montrealer Michael Moszberg was studying abroad and in the market for a gym, but didn’t want to make the commitment to a membership.

Adam B. Coape-Arnold: Artisantrepreneur

joy.wang@mail.mcgill.ca — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 19:07:39 +0000

Adam B. Coape-Arnold came to ��ϲ��’s School of Continuing Studies the day before classes started for the Fall 2013 semester in order to see what the School offered.

Mégantic : se réinventer, après la crise

joy.wang@mail.mcgill.ca — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 16:15:06 +0000

J’ai participé à la quatrième et dernière étape de la Tournée des entrepreneurs, hier, à Lac-Mégantic. Journée très différente de celle de Gaspé qui a rassemblé des entrepreneurs de Mégantic, mais beaucoup de gens de l’extérieur, également.

Selling textbooks without the hassle of the haggle

thao.nguyen3@mail.mcgill.ca — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 15:45:52 +0000

As the new semester rolls in, so does a new textbook-exchanging app. Venndor, founded by recent ��ϲ�� graduates Anthony Heinrich, Julien Marlatt and Tynan Davis, is a classifieds app with the goal of helping students buy and sell textbooks without the need for haggling or negotiating prices.

��ϲ�� X-1 Accelerator: seventh week at a glance

colin.donahoe@mail.mcgill.ca — Wed, 02 Aug 2017 16:58:20 +0000

Week seven of the ��ϲ�� X-1 Accelerator was all about two things: Announcing a transformative $2 million gift from the John Dobson Foundation, and setting up for the upcoming Demo Days.