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43 Founders and 32 Ventures Participate in the Winter Cohort of Social Impact Catalyst Powered by RBC Future Launch!
From building new communities and driving positive social change to creating disruptive technologies and transforming consumer journeys, there’s no limit to the creativity of young Canadian entrepreneurs.
We are excited to welcome 32 new social purpose ventures spearheaded by 43 youth changemakers to the winter cohort of the Social Impact Catalyst powered by RBC Future Launch.
Over the next 14 weeks, these purpose-driven founders will participate in an immersive, interactive learning experience and develop the skills and mindsets to advance their entrepreneurial and changemaking initiatives. They will cover the foundations of entrepreneurial knowledge while staying grounded in EDGE’s core values of justice, equity, diversity, inclusion and decolonization.
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We can’t wait to begin this journey with our young leaders as they learn to build their capacity and the capacity of their projects to contribute to social change.
Peel Partners | Charlton Sinclair
Peel Partners aims to remove barriers preventing youth from accessing valuable involvement opportunities within their communities. They partner with local organizations to create and encourage youth leadership initiatives, curate all available growth opportunities in the Peel region and share educational content and events. They hope to help young leaders become inspiring role models in the community and support local organizations through promotions and partnerships.
The Aesthetics Studio | Hannah Wang
The Aesthetics Studio is an eco-conscious stationery business that shares the joys of journaling and stationery through original stickers, magnets, bookmarks, gift items and more! With 150 sticker unique sheet designs, Aesthetic Studio strives to create cute stationery products that encourage people to journal and use their planners more often to live a more organized and reflective life and improve their mental health while minimizing the waste from production and shipping.
Incurios | Gladys Lou & Natalie Ng
Incurios is a multimedia publication based in the GTA specializing in storytelling through journalism, video, and digital content creation. Incurios aims to support emerging 18-35-year-old BIPOC and 2SLGBTQ+ creatives and amplify the voices. They promote these artists through interviews and stories helping them reach more audiences for artistic growth and professional development.
Love And Mind | Garisha Nathan
Love and Mind is a social enterprise with a mission to provide affordable and accessible mental health services, employment services, education and resources for low-income and BIPOC communities. Love and Mind aim to eradicate barriers and trauma by using life experiences and adversities.
EpiHealth | Vladyslava Diachenko
EpiHealth is a seizure prediction and detection app that uses AI and biometric data from wearable wrist devices that can be used to notify a person of a potential seizure, allow them to stay safe, and have more control over their condition.
Sharp Storytelling | Samantha Henry & Thomas Dennett
Sharp Storytelling is a full-service media agency that uses visual storytelling to amplify the voices of purpose-driven organizations that positively impact our communities. Sharp Storytelling works with not-for-profit and other socially and environmentally conscious organizations to spread awareness of critical social issues, inspire volunteerism or raise funds
The Crystal Eye | Indrid Burrell
The Crystal Eye is focused on selling home goods and products like candles, jewelry, and crystals, The Crystal Eye is a curated and ethical shop that sells primarily through markets in the Greater Moncton Area. They primarily employ LGBTQ2s+ individuals and focus on giving opportunities to disabled individuals.
Visit The Crystal Eye Instagram
Sydney Searchwell-Simpson
Sydney Searchwell-Simpson transforms green spaces in lower-income BIPOC communities into abundant urban food forest gardens to support local ecosystems. These spaces resource communities with the tools to nourish themselves while creating a reparative relationship with the Earth and its inhabitants. This community-led change supports the health of all holistically while also nurturing imagination, inspiring local leadership and artistic expression.
Narnia Property Management | Azlan Trecartin
Narnia Property Management aims to buy and rent affordable apartments so families can live in safe, secure, affordable, well-maintained homes. Narnia Property Management recognizes the lack of suitable living spaces in the GTA, lot of affordable apartments are not well maintained since the rent isn’t high. Narnia aims to help families live with security and safety, decreasing stress in the children and parents, making it easier for kids to focus on school and supporting their mental health.
Santina's Sticker Box | Santina Hughes
Santina’s Sticker Box (SSB) is a one-stop shop for business owners who need creative services that align with and contribute to their company’s goals. SSB strives to empower, motivate, and provide accessible services to smaller businesses that continue to impact the community. Additionally, as an all-female team, SSB strives to validate that women also belong in the entrepreneurial field.
Mirza Mehendi | Nihma Hussain
Mirza Mehendi gives Saint Johners and now Ontarians the opportunity to experience the intricacy and beauty of a deep-rooted art form – Henna. With years of skill development and cultural appreciation, founder Nihma Hussain creates a personalized and customized experience giving clients a taste and appreciation for South Asian henna art.
Steps2Flourish | Amal Zeidan
Steps2Flourish is a youth-run non-profit promoting student well-being and success through skill-building workshops/events and a database of resources. Steps2Flourish hopes to help promote mental health, financial literacy, and other skills that help with a student’s overall success. Steps2Flourish has hosted events with professionals on topics like coping with the pandemic, financial wellness and dealing with stress. Steps2Flourish hopes to collaborate with mental health organizations on future events, workshops and initiatives.
Ruffin It Refills| Paige Wright
Ruffin it Refills provides a refillable hygiene station that allows students from grades 6 to 12 access free hygiene products such as shampoo, conditioner, body wash, deodorant, toothbrushes and toothpaste tablets. Ruffin it Refills provides accessibility to students that need hygiene items while being sustainable and eco-friendly.
Sweet Crumb Cakery | Paige Thorbahn
Sweet Crumb Cakery, located in East Saint John, offers high-quality baked goods and an ample, cozy lounging space. Sweet Crumb Cakery is a haven for all ages to be yourself, meet new community members, and relax with delicious confections.
Every Child Dreams | Ji Eun Park, Ananya Gupta, & Radini Rajaratne
Every Child Dreams (ECD) is focused on nurturing social and emotional skills in the early years. Social-emotional skills involve managing emotions, stress, positive motivation, relationship skills, self-confidence and identity and learning skills/ executive functioning. ECD plans to develop a gamified journal that integrates components of a traditional journal with the digital space. ECD wants to impact young children’s lives by providing engaging resources to help them cope with various stressors and well-being.
E-FACTS | Luvraj Tyagi
E-facts aims to reduce our carbon footprint by eliminating the need to use receipt printers that emit carbon. Printing and receipt production demand a lot of natural resources. E-facts has developed a mobile app that works with Apple Wallet and Google Pay that automatically receives receipts for its users. The E-facts software is connected to the retailer’s POS system to receive receipts directly.
Beating the Stereotypes | Collin Jonathan Alfred
Beating the Stereotypes is a movement that promotes change by providing free haircuts for the homeless. Beating the Stereotypes plans to open a mobile barber shop to travel throughout Canada and the US, provide free haircuts for the homeless, and try to provide them with opportunities so they can apply for a job or at least score an interview.
Abimbola | Mariam Oyinloye
Abimbola is an eco-friendly company that specializes in women’s hygiene. Abimbola aims to reduce the number of pads and tampons in landfills and make menstrual products cheaper. Due to all the plastics and chemicals, regular pads can only be used once and take 1,000 years to decompose. Abimbola offers menstrual undergarments that can be washed and reused.
Happy Mindz | Nikita Mevcha
Happy Mindz is a leadership academy for kids. They teach soft skills like creative thinking, creative writing, etiquette, manners, and public speaking. A sense of belonging and relationship building is what every human is seeking, and Happy Mindz and Ideas Forum is just a slight nudge towards it. It aims to connect like-minded people from diverse backgrounds.
Family and Feelings | Ashley Gibbs
Family and Feelings is an all-in-one solution for building emotionally resilient children. We provide easy-to-use home intervention tools such as journals, on-demand videos and online programs for children and pre-teens struggling with social-emotional development. Family and Feelings aims to help children excel in their adolescence and adulthood by establishing a well-balanced life.
Clean Cuts | Nathaniel Robinson-Dyck
Clean Cuts is developing an antimicrobial cutting board consisting of a polymer, wood flour and other natural additives to create a durable, low-cost, water-resistant product. The board’s antimicrobial properties are derived from copper nanoparticles, uniformly integrated into its design. The Clean Cuts Cutting Board aims to decrease food-borne illnesses in commercial and home kitchens. Clean Cuts uses environmentally friendly, ethically sourced materials, and has a significantly lower environmental impact than it’s competitors.
Biophyter | Chengye Yang
Biophyter develops natural antimicrobial ingredients for cleaning products from agrifood waste. They aim to make an impact in environmental sustainability, global health, and food justice.
Incredible Skills | Favour Nzeribe
Incredible Skills helps skilled professionals find job opportunities and improve the skill trade work environment. The demand for skilled trade has increased dramatically due to investments in roads, airports, bridges, buildings, tunnels and other facilities, however, the supply of workers has not kept up with this demand. Incredible Skills aims to provide workers with the proper tools, training and opportunities to be successful.
Ace Inc. | Lauren DeSouza
Ace is on a mission to create confidence in communication for every job seeker. Ace is an AI platform that helps prepare individuals for interviews. The platform encourages users to complete guides, exercises, and mock interviews where our AI delivers feedback on content, communication, and confidence factors. Ace provides social impact by targeting SDG #8 for decent work and economic growth, working towards upskilling job seekers internationally.
MindFuse | Sidharth Gautam
Mindfuse connects working professionals from various fields with aspirants on the same path. Career choice is a significant challenge for young people. Mindfuse gives users a perspective into their desired field while preparing them for success through interactive educational support. This initiative helps young people plan their futures according to their interests and offers advice to aspiring business owners on approaching any area of the present business market.
Port City Virtual | Sepehr Bastani
The Port City Virtual is a platform that helps people navigate through new buildings and public spaces. They offer virtual tours that all users can access in order to discover their environment and alleviate some of the stresses associated with moving into new areas.
BQFQ | Kaia Pejsa
BQFQ creates artistic and discrete queer products that give back to the community through various LGBTQ+ charities. This project is By Queer, For Queer.
BRIGHT | Farimah Valipour
Bright wants to ensure everyone around us is living their best life, especially newcomers to Canada. Bright provides personalized interior design and delivers various products, including home assortments and appropriate items for special occasions.
Connect with Farimah on instagram https://www.instagram.com/farimahvalipour_/
A.P.P. (Allergy. Protection. Program) | Moriya Boyle
A.P.P. (Allergy.Protection.Program.) identifies and highlights specific product allergens by allowing the user to scan the ingredients list. APP helps identify allergens and provides alternatives for products that cannot be consumed. It is creating a brand-new way of eating which ensures safety and fosters independence for those who struggle with allergies and sensitivities
Tough Topics Press | Hazel Mekkattukulam
Tough Topics Press is dedicated to creating a platform for authors to publish compelling and creative stories that engage with tough topics in a meaningful and authentic way. They give authors the platform to publish narratives that explore issues such as trauma, loss, grief, injustices, etc., that many publishers would otherwise ignore. Tough Topics Press is determined to create a safe space where everyone is welcome and heard
EcoExplorer | Min Yi Liu, Boris Vasilev, Justin Li, Alisha Mohanty
EcoExplorer is an app that incentivizes users to create community events with others close to their geographical location. EcoExplorer aims to bring together a community of environmental enthusiasts to tackle the issue of invasive species in their communities. The platform features an extensive database that helps users track and learn about invasive species.
Carbon Trackers | Rishi Iyer, Ariyan Nagartha, Sachin Parthipan, Frank Lin
Carbon Trackers is an app that allows people to create positive change for the environment by inputting the user’s carbon footprint. Carbon Trackers helps people to understand their carbon footprint, how it affects the environment and how they can improve. This app will be available for smartphone users of all ages.
The EDGE Social Impact Catalyst powered by RBC Future Launch supports youth entrepreneurs with mentorship, expertise and funding as they develop solutions to community challenges. For more information visit the program page or reach out to us at edge@sheridancollege.ca
EDGE is supported by:
Proud recipient of support from the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
