Yuliya Riabko, owner of Perogies Takeout and full-time Bachelor of Commerce student, has been named a 2012 Student Entrepreneur Ontario Champion. The Student Entrepreneur National Competition is operated by charitable organization Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) and proudly presented by the John Dobson Foundation.
Started in 2007 with her family, Riabko has owned and operated Perogies Takeout, a restaurant that specializes in healthy and homemade Ukrainian cuisine including perogies, cabbage rolls, borsht and more.
Riabko’s largest business accomplishments to date include maintaining the profitability of Perogies during the 2008 economic downturn, and most recently being named “Best Perogies Place” in Ottawa by CBC Radio in 2011.
“This country has a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and we are proud to support and develop our emerging leaders to help build a better Canada”, explained Amy Harder, President of ACE.” Our 2012 Student Entrepreneur Provincial Champions are making meaningful contributions to the country and we look forward to seeing their companies continue to grow.”
As a provincial champion, Riabko will now move on to represent Ontario in the regional round of competition taking place at the 2012 ACE Regional Exposition in Toronto on March 11. 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 2012 ACE National Exposition in Calgary on May 9, 2012. The National Champion will receive a $10,000 cash prize and have the opportunity to represent Canada at the international level of competition, the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards.
Check out her interview with CBC