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The CEO's Column: Local Businesses in Global Media (December 2022)

Whoever expected a gloomy month of November must have been surprised if they live in Québec City … Once again, the region’s businesses had tremendous success this month! First, we had the privilege to witness the launch of the first sustainable tourism innovation hub in the province, created by the MT Lab and Destination Québec cité. Then, Québec City was selected to host the next edition of the Rencontre des entrepreneurs francophones (LaRef) in 2023. Finally, a group of local entrepreneurs, members of the Parcours IME Europe program, attended a series of meetings during their first mission in France to accelerate their international development.

All these projects have one thing in common: they are designed to promote the region and allow our businesses to grow according to their expectations. Without further ado, I invite you to discover the successes of seven local businesses that shined on the local, national and international scenes over the past few weeks. 


Surmesur

Surmesur, founded in Québec City in 2010, has scored high by signing a contract with the US football team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The players were seen wearing suits designed by Surmesur during the team’s annual charity event. The Quebec company currently has nine points of sale across Canada, the United States, and Mexico and expects to continue its rapid growth since the lifting of public health measures. 


Levio

Levio, a Quebec consulting services firm that offers digital transformation services, has announced the acquisition of the Ontario SME Indellient, specializing in real-time payment solutions. It is the tenth acquisition by Levio since its foundation in 2014. We wish them the best continuation in 2023!


Beenox

Thirteen years after it was first published, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II has been remastered and released in a new edition available since October 28. The graphics are so realistic that some images from the game have even gone viral on Twitter. This new edition is in large part a success from Québec City video game studio Beenox, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard. The result is outstanding. Congratulations to the team!


Voilà!

Launched in 2016, the Quebec company Voilà! offers workforce optimization tools to simplify schedule management, staff replacement as well as time and attendance tracking. A few weeks ago, Voilà! announced the closing of a $13M Series A funding round by Walter Ventures. The company’s goal is to accelerate its growth in the United States and Canada. 


International Acclaim

To conclude this month’s column, I would like to bring attention to the work of three other companies that received distinctions abroad. Congratulations to Fromagerie Bergeron, which just added three awards to its collection during the Sélection Caseus contest and the World Cheese Awards. The microbrewery La Souche set itself apart during the 2022 Brussels Beer Challenge, the first professional beer competition in Belgium, managing to place two of its beers among the top 3 in their respective categories. Finally, a special mention to Fairmont Château Frontenac, which won the 2022 Global Hotel of the Year Award in the World Luxury Awards.

Once again, congratulations to all these businesses that are making the greater Québec City region shine all around the world. It is my genuine pleasure to see the success of our local business sector, and you can count on Québec International to continue contributing to its growth.  

Please continue to share stories of local businesses that made the news abroad at info@quebecinternational.ca. I would be happy to share the news in my future articles. 


Carl Viel
President and CEO, Québec International