Bow Valley College has been a crucial partner for the social entrepreneurial space in Calgary and has engaged in a wide range of entrepreneurial activities in collaboration with the Trico Charitable Foundation.
On behalf of the Trico Charitable Foundation, we hope everyone is staying home, safe, and healthy. We would also like to extend a huge thank you to everyone doing their part as we navigate through the unknown. In response to COVID-19, the Trico Charitable Foundation has taken our $250,000 annual A.S.E.S.S. budget for local social enterprises and re-allocated it to charitable organizations that are working on the front lines to address COVID-19’s impact on those experiencing poverty.
November 21, 2019 was a night that put the celebration of social entrepreneurs front and centre, with the Social EnterPrize and What’s Next YYC awards. Sandwiched between those celebrations was a keynote that was provocative and profound. With the recent availability of the video of the keynote, Trico wanted to share this thought-provoking speech. Dr. Jim Dewald, PhD, Dean of the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary, presented a keynote entitled, “Social Enterprise: A New Paradigm?”.
Arbutus Medical is a Vancouver based social enterprise developing devices that break down barriers to safe surgery. Michael Cancilla, Director of Engineering and Co-Founder of Arbutus Medical states:
“From the beginning, we have been focused on expanding surgical care and we do that through frugal innovation. That means we look for simple solutions to complex problems to break down barriers to care.”
“This program represents a ‘summer of opportunity and social impact’, for the student and the Trico Foundation”, said Overall. “The student will be able to move their venture forward while generating additional income and plugging into our support services, network activities and events; and we get another bird’s eye view on what is needed to take promising social enterprises to the next level. It’s a real win-win.”
Happy New Year! The start of 2020 gives us the opportunity to reflect and learn from 2019. 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.