francois-rioux_opt (1)Francois Rioux, a successful businessman and graduate of the EMBA McGill-HEC Montréal’s first cohort, is dedicated to the Matane region, and he is very appreciative of the success that he has had. That’s a winning combination for Matane. As a way of giving back to the region that’s given him his livelihood, François set himself a goal of working with local entrepreneurs to raise $250,000 to establish a fund dedicated to the creation of new businesses and new jobs in the Matane region.

The Journal L’Avantage Rimouski, a weekly newspaper that serves the Bas-St-Laurent and Gaspésie regions announced recently that François Rioux had succeeded, as the fund was now at $ 270,000. The article quoted François on this success: “It shows that entrepreneurs from Matane want to play a strategic role in the development of our economy and thereby the sustainability of our businesses. Matane has an economic, social and cultural heritage as well as a great natural richness and all it takes to create a successful economy.” This article also explains the next steps of the project (read here – in French only).

The newspaper Information Mont-Joli, confirmed Rémi Massé’s support for François’ initiative. “It is time to have a positive and unifying leadership, like that of Mr. Rioux, from the business community. We are ambitious for our region and we will continue our hard work to create sustainable jobs,” said Massé, the Avignon-La Mitis-Matane-Matapédia federal Member of Parliament.