Saskatchewan's lentil king named Canada's top entrepreneur

Regina-based businessman Murad Al-Katib, CEO of AGT Foods, has been named Canada's entrepreneur of the year.

AGT Foods sells chickpeas, lentils and other pulse crops around the world.

A panel of judges selected Al-Katib for the honour this week in the competition sponsored by EY (formerly Ernst & Young). 

He'll spend the next year talking about entrepreneurship with people in industry and government, as well as young people, he said.

"I think that's really a great opportunity," he said. "I'm really excited about it."

Al-Katib is from a family of Turkish immigrants who arrived in Davidson, Sask., in 1967. He started his company in Saskatchewan in 2003 and took it public in 2007.

He expanded his business to pulse-growing regions in the United States, Turkey, Australia, China and South Africa, and today ships to more than 120 countries around the world.

"We saw the opportunity that [pulse] acres would grow dramatically and that a processing infrastructure in Saskatchewan would be a great business," he said.

'Compassionate entrepreneurialism'

The announcement of his award noted his company has also been busy giving back to the communities where it operates.

Al-Katib said he's passionate about the work AGT has done with food programs run by the United Nations, the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.

"Last year, we provided over four million family ration parcels to Syrian refugees," he said. "We're doing that on a commercial basis but, you know, it's what I call compassionate entrepreneurialism."

Next June, Al-Katib will compete with more than 50 other country winners for the World Entrepreneur of the Year award in Monte Carlo.