Vancouver, BC (Wednesday, February 10, 2010) - Maryanne Mathias, owner of Osei-Duro Clothing and full time MBA student at UBC, has been named the 2010 Student Entrepreneur British Columbia Champion by national charitable organization, Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) and proud program supporter, CIBC.

Since last year, Maryanne has owned and operated Osei-Duro Clothing, a company dedicated to creating socially responsible and sustainable clothing that encourages international and intercultural cooperation. Osei-Duro provides employment opportunities and job training to West African women who would otherwise be underemployed.

Maryanne’s largest business accomplishments to date include; designing collections in Canada, Ghana, Morocco, Egypt, and India, providing employment to impoverished women - currently employing two cooperatives each with 11 women as well as collaborations with Barney's in New York City and Selfridges in the United Kingdom.

"Winning the award solidifies that I am on the right path”, explains Owner of Osei-Duro Clothing, Maryanne Mathias. “I am thrilled to represent BC and happy that ACE continued to highlight the successes of student entrepreneurs on a national level.”

As a provincial champion, Maryanne will now move on to represent British Columbia in the regional round of competition taking place at the 2010 ACE Regional Exposition in Calgary on March 5, 2010. Provincial Champions will each present their business to a panel of entrepreneurs and industry professionals who will determine two Regional Champions, who will each receive a $1,000 cash prize and move on to the final round of competition at the 2010 ACE National Exposition in Calgary on May 12th, 2010. The National Champion will receive a $10,000 cash prize and represent Canada at the international level of competition, the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards.

“With today’s ever changing economic situation, ACE is proud to continue its work developing leaders, creating connections and impacting communities, explains President of ACE, Amy Harder. Our 2010 Student Entrepreneur Provincial Champions will no doubt contribute meaningfully to the Canadian economy for years to come.” 

About ACE
Founded in the mid-1980s, ACE is a national, charitable organization that is teaching and igniting young Canadians to create brighter futures for themselves and their communities. Through a collaborative partnership between higher education and industry, ACE delivers programming that provides university and college students access to real world experience that compliments in-class studies. By creating and delivering business ventures and outreach projects, students make a meaningful contribution to their communities today, while also discovering their potential to achieve an even greater impact as the leaders of tomorrow.

CIBC became a founding corporate sponsor of ACE in 1995 and has sponsored the Student Entrepreneur Competition since its inception in 1997.

Contact:
Jaime Szegvary
Communications Consultant, ACE
416.619.8994
jaime@acecanada.ca   
www.acecanada.ca
www.aceexpos.ca  

Maryanne Mathias
Owner, Osei-Duro Clothing
778.316.9930
mathias.maryanne@gmail.com
www.oseiduro.com  

###

« Back