(TORONTO, ON) March 31, 2023: Twelve post-secondary students that manage both a full-time course load and a business have been selected to pitch their businesses for a chance to win $10,000 through the Student Entrepreneur National Competition, proudly presented by HSBC Bank Canada. Finalists will compete in at the 2023 Enactus Canada National Exposition, taking place May 1-3, 2023.
The 12 finalists are:
Abdul-Latif Alhassan – Student at Memorial University of Newfoundland and owner of AbbaTek Group Inc.
- AbbaTek Group Inc. is a cleantech company that is on a mission to democratize and increase capacity for the collection, analysis, and reporting of pertinent environmental data, starting with microplastics. Their flagship product, MPConnect, is targeted at making microplastics monitoring, characterization, analysis, and reporting more affordable, standardized, and scalable.
Arielle Lok – Student at McGill University and owner of Peko
- Peko is on a mission to fight food waste and promote access to affordable, healthy food. Peko is building Canada’s #1 online grocery marketplace that delivers “peculiar” or surplus groceries at up to 40% off retail prices.
Athithan Ambikkumar – Student at University of Calgary and owner of Remote Optical
- Remote Optical believes that everyone should have access to eye care, regardless of geographical location and socioeconomic status. To ensure that everyone can receive eye care from anywhere, Remote Optical is developing a digital tool that allows ophthalmologists to conduct eye examinations remotely.
Bronwyn Bridges – Student at Memorial University of Newfoundland and owner of PragmaClin Research Inc
- PragmaClin has developed PRIMS, a digital monitoring technology for Parkinson’s Disease which efficiently covers a full range of motor and non-motor symptoms. PRIMS will improve access to care for patients and will make the clinician’s job of assessing patients easier, faster, and more accurate than is currently possible.
Chloë Ryan – Student at McGill University and owner of Acrylic Robotics
- Acrylic Robotics is an art-tech start-up helping artists earn a living by scaling their work. Artists design their pieces either digitally on a tablet or physically on canvas and their brushstroke data is captured and reproduced with real paint on canvas using robotic arms. These pieces are sold in limited-edition collections, allowing artists to earn more income per design.
Élisabeth Mercier – Student at University of Ottawa and owner of Advanced Environmental Molecular Analytics Ltd. (AEMA)
- Advanced Environmental Molecular Analytics Ltd. (AEMA) is a health tech start-up operating in the wastewater monitoring sector. AEMA develops state-of-the-art methods and provides turnkey solutions for private and public laboratories as well as wastewater epidemiological data reports for government and public health bodies so they can use it to keep their population safe.
Erin Creegan-Dougherty – Student at Mount Royal University and owner of Maskwa Backcountry Foods
- Maskwa Backcountry Foods creates delicious, nutritious meals for customers wilderness experiences. They aim to provide great tasting prepared food choices, tailored to meet dietary needs and preferences. Using locally grown sustainable ingredients, Maskwa’s goal is to share Metis culture and history one recipe at a time.
Ghalia Aamer – Student at University of Alberta and owner of TalkMaze
- Communication is the top skill employers are looking for, yet over 73% of people are afraid of public speaking. The pandemic has particularly slowed down speech and language skill development in children. TalkMaze aims to solve this challenge by instilling confidence in children aged 5-17 through personalized virtual public speaking and debate training on a proprietary technology platform.
Jamie Magrill – Student at McGill University and owner of Decap Research & Development Inc.
- Over 2 million healthcare, veterinary and research workers injure themselves with needles every year, causing $600+ million in injury costs and lost work. DECAP is designing protective, easy-to-use companion devices that eliminate needle-stick injuries, promote sustainable recycling practices of needle-caps, and improve workplace safety conditions for healthcare workers around the globe.
Jessica Jenkins – Student at University of Toronto and owner of Specifix Dx
- Specifix Dx is a student-led start-up dedicated to the improvement of clinical rapid testing tools. UroStix aims to improve the accuracy of rapid urinary tract infection testing, which will enable timely diagnosis, decrease the prevalence of false positive diagnoses and reduce unnecessary antibiotic treatment.
Mark Mooradian – Student at University of Guelph and owner of Charged
- Charged is a refurbishing and repair business that services and sells small light electric vehicles (electric scooters, bicycles, self-balancing wheels, and boards) across all of Canada.
Shreyansh Anand – Student at Queen’s University and owner of WaiveTheWait Inc
- WaiveTheWait is a company dedicated to automating routine staff tasks at medical clinics to increase efficiency. WaiveTheWait provides a suite of products that automate multi-step follow-ups, patient check-ins, document sending & fax labelling; each service individually saves dozens of staff hours every week.
Learn more at https://enactus.ca/2023-student-entrepreneur-finalists/
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ABOUT THE STUDENT ENTREPRENEUR NATIONAL COMPETITION: To celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit of young Canadians, Enactus Canada runs the Student Entrepreneur National Competition, proudly presented by HSBC Bank Canada. The Student Entrepreneur National Competition enhances the success of full-time students operating businesses, who are creating jobs and furthering investments in our economic future. Every year, student entrepreneurs present their businesses to panels of Canada’s industry leaders in national competitions in order to be named Enactus Canada’s Student Entrepreneur National Champion.
ABOUT ENACTUS CANADA: Enactus Canada, a national charity and the country’s largest post-secondary experiential learning platform, is shaping entrepreneurial leaders who are passionate about advancing the economic, social, and environmental health of Canada. Guided by academic advisors and business experts, more than 3,000 post-secondary students led 188 community empowerment projects and business ventures last year in communities coast to coast, directly impacting over 30,000 lives.
As a global network of 33 countries, Enactus uses the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world. For more information, visit enactus.ca.
About HSBC Bank Canada: HSBC Bank Canada, a subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc (‘HSBC Group’), is the leading international bank in the country. We help companies and individuals across Canada to do business and manage their finances here and internationally through four businesses: Commercial Banking, Wealth and Personal Banking, Global Banking, and Markets and Securities Services. HSBC Group has committed to becoming net-zero in its operations and financed emissions and is working with our customers to accelerate the transition to a low carbon economy.
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of HSBC Bank Canada, is headquartered in London. HSBC serves customers worldwide from offices in 63 countries and territories in its geographical regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Latin America, and Middle East and North Africa. With assets of US$2,985bn at 30 June 2022, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organizations.
For more information visit www.hsbc.ca or follow us on Twitter: @HSBC_CA or Facebook: @HSBCCanada
Media Inquiries:
Tyler Maddigan
Manager, Marketing & Communications
Enactus Canada
tyler@enactus.ca | 416.315.2099