City hands out Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards to three local businesspeople - Escape Bicycle Tours & Rentals- Explore Ottawa By Bike

October 30, 2015Awards

The three winners of the city’s 2015 Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards have an entrepreneurial spirit that makes Ottawa a better place, Mayor Jim Watson said Friday.

The mayor presented this year’s awards to Nishith Goel, Moe Abbas and Dr. Maria Rasouli at the TiECon Canada Conference at the Brookstreet Hotel.

The Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards celebrate and recognize local business people who have immigrated to Canada, achieved entrepreneurial success and worked to make a difference in their community.A veteran technology executive, Mr. Goel is currently CEO of Cistel Technologies. He has also sat on various boards and community foundations since coming to Canada. He is currently chair of the board of directors of the Queen’s Centre for Energy and Power Electronics Research.Mr. Abbas came to Canada as a boy and founded his first companies when he was 19. He is the founder of Ottawa General Contractors and Bumpn, the first consumer-facing social media application to originate in Ottawa.

Originally from Iran, Ms. Rasouli has a PhD in psychology from Carleton University, but decided to follow her passion for cycling by founding Escape Bicycle Tours. Over the last six years, she has also offered professional mentorship to more than 150 immigrants in Ottawa.

“All of our winners embody an entrepreneurial spirit that not only nurtures the business community but also makes Ottawa a better place to live for everyone,” Mr. Watson said in a statement. “Today’s recipients are living proof that Ottawa is one of the best places in the world to live, work and play.”