(Toronto, ON) July 12, 2011 - Visa announced today that Anna-Maria Mountfort is the winner of ‘Canada’s Longest Elevator Pitch’ contest, which gave Canadian small business owners the opportunity to win a $10,000 credit on a Visa® Business card. Anna-Maria’s company, mimiTENS, creates specialty mittens for kids, made in Canada. Anna-Maria was chosen from five finalists who competed for the chance to win a $10,000 grand prize during a 60 second elevator ride. The winner will also have her business featured on www.visa.ca/gobiz.

“I’m so excited and humbled to be the winner of Canada’s Longest Elevator Pitch competition,” said Anna-Maria Mountfort, founder of mimiTENS. “This was a very fun competition and I was so impressed by all the other finalists. Thank you to Visa for this vote of confidence –the $10,000 credit on my Visa business card will help me grow my women’s collection and hire staff.”

The five finalists, who were chosen from more than 600 entrants from across Canada, descended on Toronto to present their best elevator pitches to a panel of small business experts in the most fitting location - an actual elevator ride in Toronto’s luxurious One King West Hotel and Residences. The contestants’ pitches were debated by a panel of judges who know from experience what it takes to build a strong business from the ground up. Judges included Sarah Prevette, founder of Sprouter.com, an online counseling platform for small businesses and start-ups; Daniel Klass, Venture Capitalist and owner of Klass Capital; Stéphane Lavallée, vice president, Business Solutions Division, and publisher of Groupe Les Affaires at Media Transcontinental and Matthew Corrin, founder and CEO of Freshii.

“The Visa Business card is designed to help small businesses grow by improving their ability to manage cash flow,” says Brenda Woods, Head of Marketing, Visa Canada. “We are thrilled for Anna-Maria and mimiTENS, and look forward to seeing how the $10,000 credit on her Visa Business card will help impact her business.”

Helping Small Businesses Efficiently Manage their Finances The Visa Business card is an efficient and convenient way for businesses to manage cash flow and expenses. Convenient for everyday travel and entertainment, office supplies, business costs and access to cash, it also allows small businesses to better manage their expenses.

For more information on how Visa supports Canadian small businesses, please visit www.visa.ca/gobiz

About Visa
Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world’s most advanced processing networks—VisaNet—that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transactions a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com

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