As with many entrepreneurs, Paul Shumlich, founder and innovator of Deepwater Farms, radiates a certain something that makes success seem effortless. Behind his instinctive nature, however, comes a driven work ethic and a tremendous passion for making the world a better place.
Self-identified as a community activator, Sydney Tyber is striving to support students and the population in general who think outside of the box. Two years ago, Sydney was pitched a rough idea by her co-founder Michael Stulberg and along with the added leadership of Eman El-Fayomi and Jennifer McDougall, they began creating their social venture, Laneway Futures T.O.
Trico Foundation and Futurpreneur have collaborated in the creation of Debt Financing for Non-Profit Social Enterprises: Workbook for Boards and Senior Staff. This workbook is intended to be a resource to help non-profit directors and managers become more aware of the resources they may need to be ready for debt financing and how to use them.
While attending to his full-time graduate studies in policy studies focusing on immigration, settlement, and the diaspora at Ryerson University, Peter Haastrup dedicates much of his time working with the Kenya Village Project. With this project, Peter has worked for the last three years to bring a better and more sustainable means of cooking to the villagers.
Zoya Jiwa is hoping to make a statement in the fashion and social impact worlds by creating an online platform where people with health conditions can creatively come together. At the young age of 14, Zoya was diagnosed with Lupus, an autoimmune disease that can create inflammation in an individual’s organs. She also lives with fibromyalgia, a condition characterized by intense pain in muscles and soft tissues.
A duo of extremely ambitious and determined entrepreneurs are looking to make a buzz in entomophagy (human consumption of insects as food). Jorge Hoyos and Chris Blachut have been working on their social venture Heilu for almost a year. The venture seeks challenging conventional food industry, which can be wasteful and unsustainable by providing daring, environmentally friendly, and healthy food products.
Stepping into the University of Calgary’s Entrepreneurship 317 class, three Haskayne Business students could not have predicted a class project would transform into a successful social venture creating change. The project tasked students Miranda Mantey, Willis Tat, and Justin Wood to address a world issue. The result was the creation of One World Blankets a social enterprise that sought to employ local weavers in India to make blankets that would be sold in North America. Proceeds would not only provide employment in India, they would be utilized for vaccinations in India.
There are a growing number of events connected to social entrepreneurship. Many of them happen in our home city, demonstrating what an incredible hub of activity Calgary is. The Trico Foundation team is pleased to attend many of them and wish we could attend more.
A recap of the premier international event for advancing entrepreneurial approaches and solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. Our blog includes “Potpourri of Insights” and “Three Key Pillars (The Skoll Awards, Al Gore Keynote, Discussion on The Future of Social Impact and Entrepreneurship Education)”.
The ABSI Connect Fellows formed in August 2015. Every aspect of the Fellowship embodied the spirit of the collective action and intent that inspired this experiment. The ABSI Connect Fellows are a timely experiment crafted in response to an emergent need, opportunity, and collective interest for social innovation in Alberta.