TD Bank Group joins Bow Valley College’s family of supporters as the inaugural Presenting Sponsor of the VentureQuest social entrepreneurship program. With their generous support, the College will empower aspiring entrepreneurs in our student community to attain income stability through entrepreneurship. 

VentureQuest is an engaging entrepreneurship program that gives Bow Valley College students, past and present, the chance to start a business that can positively impact the community. Each year, the program helps more than 100 aspiring entrepreneurs develop their employability and entrepreneurial skills through a practical learning experience and supports the development of new business ideas.

Nadeem (Aly) Jiwa, a member of our VentureQuest program alumni community, shared his experience. “I believe the best way to learn business skills is by putting theory into practice. The VentureQuest entrepreneurship program at Bow Valley College enabled me to jump right into the real learning experience I was seeking,” he says. “I was able to grasp the key concepts of execution that can't be taught by textbook. These experiences carried me through to my second business successfully, and now going on to the third.” 

This year we are focusing our VentureQuest program, activities, resources, and support to contribute to an equitable entrepreneurship ecosystem in Calgary. We aim to make programming accessible to equity-seeking groups, understand the barriers that prevent participation, demystify the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and offer more tailored support. 

“TD’s support will not only allow more Bow Valley College students who are aspiring business owners to start their entrepreneurship journey,” says Craig Elias, Bow Valley College’s entrepreneur-in-residence and VentureQuest lead. “It will allow them to validate and test their ideas, so they are more likely to be successful the first time around.” 

We want to thank TD on behalf of all Bow Valley College students and alumni who will benefit from their commitment to bettering our community through entrepreneurship. TD and our growing family of supporters are helping us to Open Doors – Open Minds for future graduates who will be leaders in our community. 

“Our province has long acknowledged the many great contributions that entrepreneurs have made across our industries,” stated Robert Ghazal, senior vice president for branch banking in the Prairie Region. “At TD, we believe that supporting programs like Bow Valley College's VentureQuest helps prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs to play a critical role in the Alberta's future prosperity. It's one of our core beliefs that when people play a role in their community, then good things really can happen. And I think this is particularly true of the socially-focused entrepreneurs the come out of this program with a desire to contribute and drive responsible change.” 

Learn more here: https://bowvalleycollege.ca/schools/chiu-school-of-business/initiatives/social-entrepreneurship/venturequest