(HALIFAX, NS) March 3, 2023: Students at Dalhousie University and Saint Mary’s University have been named 2023 TD Entrepreneurship Challenge Regional Champions by Canada’s largest experiential learning platform, Enactus Canada, and proud program supporter, TD Bank Group
The team from Enactus Dalhousie University created the New Venture Marketplace to help break down socio-economic barriers many newcomers face when starting a business. The team hosts a marketplace at key times throughout the year and provides these new entrepreneurs with the platform and opportunity to showcase their business, free of charge. In the last year alone, the team has helped start 12 businesses, exposed 165 people to entrepreneurship, and directly impacted the lives of 125 entrepreneurs in their community.
The team from Saint Mary’s University created Options Online with the goal of providing free, entrepreneurial education to at-risk youth through a series of learn-at-your-own-pace online workshops. The program currently has 23 youth enrolled in their Professional Development Series.
“Enactus students are the next-gen leaders of tomorrow.” says Allyson Hewitt, President of Enactus Canada. “Not only are they taking an entrepreneurial approach to address community issues, but they’re using social innovation to elevate Canadian entrepreneurs and it’s truly inspiring.”
The TD Entrepreneurship Challenge is a national competition empowering post-secondary students to deliver projects that teach entrepreneurial skills to aspiring and existing entrepreneurs. Since 2007, 21,699 Enactus students have dedicated over 1,000,000 hours to deliver more than 2,500 entrepreneurship projects that started 4,500 businesses while directly impacting the lives of over 23,000 entrepreneurs.
“I’d like to congratulate Enactus Dalhousie University and Enactus Saint Mary’s University for being named Regional Champions of the 2023 TD Entrepreneurship Challenge,” says Kate Lally, Senior Manager, Social Impact. “As part of our corporate citizenship platform, the TD Ready Commitment, we are proud to support Enactus Canada which is helping to shape the next generation of business leaders who are passionate about building a more inclusive and sustainable tomorrow using their entrepreneurial skills. Through their ventures, these students are helping address key issues experienced by many individuals and in turn helping open doors to new opportunities in communities across Canada.”
Student teams demonstrated the impact of their entrepreneurial projects to panels of business executives on March 3 in Halifax, Nova Scotia as part of the Enactus Canada Regional Exposition – Atlantic Canada.
These two finalist teams will now move on to the national level of competition taking place May 1-3, 2023 at the Enactus Canada National Exposition in Montreal.
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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.
Media Inquiries:
Jennifer Falzon
VP, Programs & Marketing
Enactus Canada
jen@enactus.ca | 416.315.2099
Students at Saint Mary’s University – TD Entrepreneurship Challenge Regional Champions.
Students at Dalhousie University – TD Entrepreneurship Challenge Regional Champions