(HALIFAX) 13 March 2017 – Rates of food insecurity in the North are four times higher than the national average. Working with expert botanists and engineers, students from Memorial University of Newfoundland designed a hydroponic system that uses 90 per cent less water and grows produce twice as fast. Project Sucseed is a sustainable social enterprise wherein retail markets fund the core goal of increasing food security in Northern Canada, while also employing aspiring entrepreneurs to grow produce and share within their communities.
Students from Saint Mary’s University have been working in parallel to combat the high unemployment rate for Canadians with autism, currently sitting at 85 per cent. With Autism Nova Scotia and Ready Willing and Able, they created Autism Works Entrepreneurship, a program that provides individualized consulting expertise to help individuals with autism start and grow their business ventures.
The Enactus Memorial University of Newfoundland and Enactus Saint Mary’s teams have been named 2017 TD Entrepreneurship Challenge Regional Champions by Canada’s largest experiential learning platform, Enactus Canada, and program supporter TD Bank Group.
Through Enactus Memorial’s Project Sucseed, the team has established 13 food sharing cooperatives and has empowered 88 community members to participate in their entrepreneurial food-sharing model. Enactus Memorial has partnered with Woodward Group of Companies to expand Project Sucseed to every community in Nunavut and Labrador.
In only 10 months, Autism Works Entrepreneurship has expanded its client base from seven to thirteen clients across five provinces, helping capable entrepreneurs increase revenues by $76,275.
“Entrepreneurship drives innovation, job creation and employment” said Nicole Almond, President of Enactus Canada. “Through this challenge, we empower students to use their own entrepreneurial skills to help ensure the ongoing growth of entrepreneurial ventures across Canada.”
The TD Entrepreneurship Challenge is a national competition empowering post-secondary students to develop and deliver projects that teach entrepreneurial skills to aspiring and existing entrepreneurs. Since 2007, 13,018 students have exposed 67,875 people to entrepreneurship as a viable career path and have positively impacted 15,893 entrepreneurs.
Student teams demonstrated the impact of their entrepreneurial projects to panels of business executives on March 17 in Halifax as part of the Enactus Canada Regional Exposition – Atlantic Canada.
Enactus Memorial and Enactus Saint Mary’s will now move on to the national level of competition taking place May 9-11 at the 2017 Enactus Canada National Exposition in Vancouver.
ABOUT ENACTUS CANADA: Enactus Canada, 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 2,734 entrepreneurial post-secondary students led 280 community empowerment projects and business ventures last year in communities coast to coast. As a global network of 36 countries, Enactus uses the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world. For more information, visit enactus.ca.
Media Inquiries:
Jennifer Falzon
Director, Marketing & Strategic Growth, Enactus Canada
jen@enactus.ca | 416.304.1566 x222 | 416.315.2099