New Micro-Learning Course Launches with a Pitch Contest for $15,000 in Business Support


SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, March 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Business development organization, Co-operatives First, is pleased to announce the launch of a new business development micro-learning course and pitch contest for start-up co-operatives.

This free online training called Introduction to Co-operatives is a self-directed bootcamp for collaborating entrepreneurs unfamiliar with the co-operative legal structure.

“We’ve designed the course to help entrepreneurs organize their new business,” says Audra Krueger, Executive Director for Co-operatives First. “So, it’s a guide for taking a business idea from sketches on a whiteboard to investment readiness, but it’s also a crash course on the co-operative model.”

Designed for busy go-getters, the course is available in bite-sized, video-based parts so that people who take it can learn on the run. To celebrate the launch of this modular, self-paced, and free course, the organization is also hosting a pitch contest.

“Throughout April, we’re accepting pitches for start-up co-operatives,” said Krueger. “If you’re teaming up on a start-up, this is your opportunity to win $15,000 worth of start-up support.”

To enter, groups need to provide the organization with a short, written pitch of their business idea. The prize package includes organizational design, feasibility, or business planning, plus incorporation and board governance training. The contest is open to groups forming co-operatives throughout western Canada.

To learn more about the course and pitch contest, visit CooperativesFirst.com/Team-Up-on-a-Start-Up/

MEDIA CONTACT

Dan Matthews
Manager, Strategy and Communications for Co-operatives First
dan@cooperativesfirst.com
306-382-4410

BACKGROUND

Co-operatives First is a non-profit organization funded by Federated Co-operatives Limited and the Co-operative Retailing System. Founded in 2015, the organization provides co-op start-up resources, such as feasibility studies, business plans, online courses, and incorporation support to rural and Indigenous entrepreneurs across western Canada. Our goal is to help leaders in these communities build new businesses, grow local economies, and support community development.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f0ecf54d-4eb3-46c0-9c30-32234bdc2e07

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/73970f58-9b9d-412b-be57-5984b962905a

A video accompanying this announcement is available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/95505b3f-a5b3-42ee-b04e-2baa746831e5


Team in discussion Audra Krueger