Calgary students qualify for national entrepreneur competition finals

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Two post-secondary college students from Calgary are being acknowledged for his or her entrepreneurial spirit as finalists in a nationwide competitors for pupil enterprise house owners.

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Making it to the highest 12 of the Scholar Entrepreneur Nationwide Competitors – offered by HSBC Financial institution Canada – College of Calgary pupil Athy Ambikkumar and Mount Royal College pupil Erin Creegan-Dougherty will pitch their companies for the $10,000 grand prize on the 2023 Enactus Canada Nationwide Exposition from Might 1 to three.

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“I’m very enthusiastic about this chance. We have been attempting to get the phrase out and attempt to discover sponsors to assist fund our subsequent steps within the mission,” says Ambikkumar, an ophthalmology resident at Rockyview Common Hospital and the proprietor of Distant Optical.

“I used to be glad to listen to that they’re right here to help entrepreneurs like me who, as college students, are on the similar time engaged on initiatives that we hope can affect the way in which issues are run in society.”

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Distant Optical is creating a digital instrument that Ambikkumar and his crew hope will make sure that sufferers can obtain eye care from anyplace on the planet and at any socioeconomic standing. Sufferers can have distant entry to an ophthalmologist.

“There are far too many instances which might be missed, misdiagnosed or left for too lengthy on account of poor entry to care, particularly for sufferers in distant communities,” Ambikkumar stated on Monday.

He stated he has lengthy been within the intersection of expertise and well being and was studying about some new expertise when he realized it’d assist in ophthalmology. They’re within the later levels of creating a prototype.

“I assumed, why not attempt it? And we had been fairly pleased with the way in which the outcomes went for us,” stated Ambikkumar.

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Working tirelessly as a resident and the enterprise will be difficult, however Ambikkumar stated the success he feels from engaged on his ardour mission helps hold him going.

“It drives me to stability my time between each,” he stated, including that he has poured a whole bunch of hours into Distant Optical since its inception in 2021.

Creegan-Dougherty is the proprietor of Maskwa Backcountry Meals.

The corporate creates native-inspired, gourmand backcountry meals for folks exploring the wilderness. Creegan-Dougherty and her crew goal to make use of domestically grown and sustainable components whereas sharing Métis tradition and historical past.

Ambikkumar and Creegan-Dougherty made it to the finals over a whole bunch of different pupil entrepreneurs from throughout Canada.

College of Alberta pupil Ghalia Aamer, who owns TalkMaze, additionally represents the post-secondary college students of Alberta within the competitors. The enterprise works to attach colleges and people – particularly kids aged 5 to 17 – with skilled public talking and debate coaching.

The scholars will pitch their companies to panels of Canada’s trade leaders on the nationwide competitors in Might and the winner can be named Enactus Canada’s Scholar Entrepreneur Nationwide Champion.

sbabych@postmedia.com