Entrepreneurship in the spotlight at a breakfast seminar
2025-05-21Bathurst, May 21, 2025 - Imagine Chaleur organized a breakfast meeting on May 21 at the Best Western Plus in Bathurst, to discuss the topic of business succession. Several panelists were on hand to lead the event, which attracted both owner-managers thinking of selling their business and entrepreneurs looking for a business opportunity.
"Takeover is an essential lever for ensuring the continuity of our entrepreneurial fabric. It's not just a matter of handing over a business, but of passing on know-how, a vision, and often, a whole local history. The aim of this event was to break down barriers, encourage encounters and stimulate concrete initiatives," emphasizes Shirley de Silva, Director of Imagine Chaleur.
Building on the success of the first edition held in 2024, Imagine Chaleur decided to repeat the initiative this year with an enhanced panel. Among the guests was Lucie Rolland, business transfer advisor for the Centre de transfert d'entreprise du Québec (CTEQ), who emphasized the growing importance of entrepreneurship. "In 2022, the business transfer rate was 4.8%, with 9365 SMEs changing hands, representing an 11.8% increase over 2021. What's more, transferred companies have a survival rate of 80% after five years, compared with 57% for those newly created."
Ms Rolland was joined by Denis Roy, Executive Director of CBDC Chaleur, Denis Boudreau, Senior Account Manager of the BDC Bathurst office, and Gilles Deveaux, Assurance and Accounting Services Partner for MNP's New Brunswick offices. Together, these experts enlightened participants on the issues, opportunities and best practices in business transfers.