Enactus SFU earns triple gold at Regional Exposition

A trio of Enactus SFU teams has advanced to the national finals after taking home the gold in their respective categories at the Enactus Western Regional Competition.

The three teams all netted first place in the three competition categories: the TD Entrepreneurship Challenge, the Capital One Financial Education Challenge, and the Scotiabank EcoLiving Green Challenge.

This year’s Regional Exposition was held in Calgary from February 27-28, where the SFU students bested 17 schools from Western Canada. The students will now advance to the National Exposition, to be held in Calgary from April 28-30, where they will compete against the top six teams from across the nation.

The competition featured two leagues in each category, with the winning team from each league advancing to the National Exposition. The competing teams were asked to present the impact they have had on local communities through their entrepreneurial initiatives in front of a panel of industry judges.

The winning program in the Entrepreneurship Challenge, Jumpstart, is a knowledge-based accelerator program for aspiring students entrepreneurs. It was presented by Beedie undergraduates Chris Pun and Jason Manoharan, assisted by designer Liah Castillo, from SFU’s School of Interactive Arts and Technology, and coached by Beedie students Ben Hwang and Lara Ahmad.

Beedie students Vameesha Patel and Manhei Lee, along with SIAT student Wendy Huang, and coached by Beedie student Mark O’Connor, showcased Hunger Actions – a health and wellness program for low-income families that provides budget and meal planning guidelines – as their winning initiative in the Financial Education category.

Meanwhile Beedie undergraduates Hannah Lee and Laetitia Lim, along with SIAT student Helen Bayogos, and coach Winona Bhatti from the Beedie School of Business, presented Banner Bags in the EcoLiving Green Challenge category. Banner Bags is an environmental education program where members teach high school students to turn nylon banners into reusable shopping bags and other accessories.

The teams spent three months training for the competition, aided by a number of Enactus SFU alumni, and Beedie School of Business faculty, and staff.

“As a coach, it was truly rewarding to see months of hard work and late nights finally come to fruition,” said Entrepreneurship Challenge coach Ben Hwang. “All three of our teams faced strong competition in their leagues, each highlighting some very impressive Enactus programs at other post-secondary institutions. I was blown away by the amount of effort our team put into this seven-minute presentation.”

Enactus, formerly known as Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), is a global organization that uses entrepreneurial action as a catalyst for progress. Enactus SFU aims to create self-sustaining social ventures that solve real problems and have measurable impact in the community.

To learn more about Enactus SFU, visit http://enactussfu.com