Happy New Year! The start of 2021 gives us the opportunity to reflect and learn from 2020. Although 2020 came with its many challenges, the past twelve months were busy, historic, and made great progress in advancing both social entrepreneurship and Calgary’s role as a hub for social entrepreneurship.
Over the month of August, 20 Mount Royal students from 15 unique programs on campus took part in the inaugural Social Entrepreneurship Sprint (MRU Sprint) hosted by the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The five teams ended the five-week Sprint with interesting social enterprise ideas that can be launched through the Institute’s LaunchPad program. A few of the students were ambitious enough to enter into a second Sprint, the Student Entrepreneur Sprint with Platform Calgary (Platform Sprint), in September. We had a chance to chat with three of the students, Leah Pottinger, Shargeel Hayat, and Avery McLellan on their social entrepreneurship journey with the two Sprints.
Over the month of September, thirteen ambitious Mount Royal University students created individual lists and presented their picks of Canada’s Top Social Entrepreneurs for 2020.
Founder, Accessibility Visionary, and Entrepreneur Sean Crump understood first-hand the challenges of inaccessible spaces after an accident left him paralyzed at 19 years old. Sean then launched Universal Access, accessibility consultants that provide assessments and certifications to multiple locations that meet their physically barrier-free standard.
After five weeks of an intensive summer program, 20 MRU students are returning to school after a transformational work-integrated learning experience and with a newfound appreciation for what it takes to be a social entrepreneur.
Fresh Routes is a not-for-profit social enterprise that is focused on creating new, innovative ways of providing healthy and affordable food to as many Canadians as possible-especially those who need it most. Their mobile grocery store (bus) brings healthy, fresh, and affordable food into neighborhoods facing barriers – allowing choice, maintaining dignity, and building community.
CareFind is a centralized interactive online platform with images, unique programs and more, which connect parents to real-time openings for child care. These are posted by accredited and or licensed daycares, preschools, out of school care programs, and approved day homes in Calgary and area for full, part-time, and drop-in care. This reduces the time that parents normally spend searching by having all child care providers housed under the same network, which highlight their availabilities.
The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Mount Royal University partners with the Trico Charitable Foundation to tackle social and environmental problems submitted by Calgary’s network of social innovation leaders.
It is no secret that ideation is HARD, especially when you are tackling complex issues. That is why Mount Royal University’s (MRU) Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Trico Charitable Foundation are excited to launch the Social Entrepreneurship Sprint this August!
The Trico Changemakers Studio is home to a diverse group of businesses, organizations, agencies and individuals working on changemaking in various forms. Over the past 2 years, they have been home to 20 organizations from different sectors, including amazing social enterprises.