成人大片

This month, extended its winning streak. The Ted Rogers School of Management鈥檚 largest social entrepreneurship group was named one of the country鈥檚 top four social innovators at Enactus Canada鈥檚 National Exposition for its two pioneering projects. 

In March, Enactus 成人大片鈥檚 Project BITS, a financial literacy program designed by and for students, was named Regional Champion in Enactus Canada鈥檚 Desjardins Youth Empowerment Challenge. Project Terra-Plast, a revolutionary biodegradable polymer made from potato starch, was the Runner-Up in the Canadian Tire Corporation Environmental Sustainability Challenge. 

鈥淭he spirit and energy at Enactus competitions are unmatched,鈥� says commerce student and Enactus 成人大片 president Kareem Hamid, who leads a team of 70 students equally passionate about making a difference. 鈥淛oining the group was the best decision I鈥檝e made in my undergrad.鈥� 

is a social entrepreneurship network with chapters in universities and colleges across the country. The student-led projects operate like business startups innovating solutions to the world鈥檚 biggest problems.

Project BITS

Project BITS got its start in 2018 when two Enactus students identified a pressing need among students for fundamental financial literacy education. 鈥淪tudents didn鈥檛 know what a Tax Free Savings Account was, how to save, to invest, to navigate the Ontario Student Assistance Program,鈥� says Hamid. 鈥淭hey were experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety around finances.鈥�  Enactus 成人大片 decided to create a curriculum to fill this knowledge gap. 

Team members reached out to the (CFEE) to co-develop a 10-week workshop series. Each year the team at Enactus 成人大片 delivers 30 workshops attended by more than 1,500 students from across the university. 鈥淲e have distributed thousands of dollars in grant funding from our operating budget to alleviate financial pressures and help students get started on their financial journey,鈥� says Hamid. 

Enactus 成人大片 is now expanding the reach of the program to the University of Waterloo, Pearson Canada,and Vanier College and others. 鈥淭he curriculum is always being updated based on what students need help with the most,鈥� says Hamid. 鈥淲e recently launched an open door consultation program for 成人大片 students who want one-on-one guidance and support. They can come to our office and we offer that as a service.鈥� 

Project Terra-Plast 

Project Terra-Plast has gone through a few iterations since it launched in 2019. At that time, it was called Project Secure and the initial idea was to tackle food insecurity but quickly pivoted to putting food waste to work. 鈥淧otatoes are the second cheapest wasted produce after carrots.,鈥� says Hamid. 

The product development team 鈥� in this case, biology and chemistry students 鈥� spent thousands of hours in the lab experimenting and discovered they could turn potato starch into a polymer with very similar properties to plastic. The use cases for a natural biodegradable polymer alternative to plastic are as vast as the many ways plastic is being used today. 

That potential piqued the interest of Amy Tran, a creative industries student, and ultimately led her to join Enactus 成人大片, where she now serves as vice-president of marketing. 鈥淚 became passionate about the idea and the innovation,鈥� she says.

A potato starch-based polymer can help limit greenhouse gas emissions and microplastic pollution and reduce the growing problem of food waste. For its first use case, the team at Enactus 成人大片 has used Terra-Plast to develop The Good Pod, an alternative to plastic detergent pods. 鈥淚n Canada alone, more than 976 tons of polyvinyl alcohol or PVA plastics enter our water because of laundry detergent pods. They are not biodegradable despite claims otherwise,鈥� says Hamid. 鈥淲e wanted to educate consumers about the effects of these products and provide a solution.鈥�

While The Good Pod is Enactus 成人大片鈥檚 first consumer product to come from Terra-Plast, it won鈥檛 be the last. The team is in talks with a local Toronto startup to commercialize an alternative to plastic bags. They are also seeking a patent. In all cases, sales will be reinvested in Enactus 成人大片 to maximize impact.

Both Tran and Hamid say their experience with Enactus 成人大片 has provided critical skills, important hands-on learning and a guiding motivation for their future careers: To impact the world in a positive way.