Earlier in November, the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) announced a student social enterprise competition. The competition aims to find four socially-innovative ventures to give each a $20,000 prize to develop their companies.
Today, ten finalists have been announced:
EP Organics, Emily Peat, University of Waterloo
EcoPlace Organics supports local certified organic farms by improving local food distribution networks. The company is building a grocery store on wheels to sell local organic foods to a niche market of young families.
JustAccess, Hamoon Ekhtiari, University of Waterloo
With: Sam Saad, Richard Steiner, Chris Barry
JustAccess is a crowdfunding website to the justice system, looking to increase access to justice while offering new opportunities for civic engagement and social empowerment by facilitating crowdfunding to legal cases.
Projexity, Jonathan Koff, University of Waterloo
With: Nicolas Koff, Marisa Bernstein, Tyler Freedman, Ghazal Badiozamani
Projexity is an online platform that aims to democratize urban change by enabling individuals and organizations to gather funding, expertise, design work and approvals for innovative urban projects.
Waterloo Banking Project, Helena Hua Cao, University of Waterloo
With: Ryan Chen-Wing, Sally Lee, Vinson Fong, Jerry Liu
The Waterloo Banking Project is creating the first student-focused financial services in Canada to help university students graduate with more money, less debt and better financial skills.
iamsick.ca, Ryan Doherty, Audrey Kuo and Sherry Lynn-Lee, University of Toronto
iamsick.ca is a web/mobile online service that aims to improve the patient experience and incentivize healthcare efficiency by helping people find the nearest open healthcare provider and the estimated wait-times at each location.
Pueblo Science, Alon Eisenstein, University of Toronto
With: Calvin Cheng, Nari Kim, Neta Raz
Pueblo Science aims to provide school-aged children in Toronto with high-quality, hands-on science and leadership learning extracurricular activities, such as after-school clubs and camps, provided to all children regardless of their parents’ financial capabilities.
Twenty One Toys, Shelley Vaisberg, University of Toronto
With: Ilana Ben-Ari, Gonzalo Riva
Twenty One Toys creates toys and workshops that bring 21st-century skills and thinking into the classroom, the boardroom and wherever else change needs a hand.
Skyline Farms, Jake Harding and Gustavo Macias, Humber College
Skyline Farms is a portable, scalable urban farming model that produces, distributes and donates all within the borders of a given community. Skyline uses hydroponics to grow fresh, nutritious produce on under-utilized urban rooftops.
FoodStory, Zacharie Weingarten, Ryerson University
With: Damian Matheson, Lee Robertson
FoodStory brings local food producers and local food evangelists together to build a better food system.
Treata Smart Caregiver, Ashkan Sattari, McMaster University
With: Neda Abedi Sohrofrouzani, Meharn Najafi, Ali Shariat, Reza Pournaghi
Treata Smart Caregiver is going to address the significant needs for individuals with memory problems and their caregivers. It helps the caregiver to provide 24-hour care for their loved ones while providing them with peace of mind.
The finalists were chosen from more than 40 entries. They will be paired with an OCE mentor to create a business plan and will pitch their ideas to a panel of judges in Toronto on March 21, where four top ideas will be announced the winners.
Source: Ontario Centres of Excellence