Enactus Acadia had its most successful year at the Atlantic Canada Regional Exposition in Halifax this March. A group of 22 students competed and placed in all four categories: CWB Financial Education Challenge, Scotiabank Environmental Challenge, they were the RBC Future Launch Project Accelerate Pitch Fund Recipients and won the Scotiabank Youth Empowerment Challenge.

Enactus is a global organization with over 70 college and university teams across Canada; The organization focuses on using social entrepreneurship to solve problems in its communities.

Throughout the year, Enactus Acadia developed projects based on needs they identified in the community and designed different businesses to tackle these issues.

The team’s most successful project, "Project Regenerate,"  focuses on teaching youth about entrepreneurship with an “eco-friendly twist.” Youth between the ages of six and 13  came to the Acadia Entrepreneurship Centre every Saturday where they received entrepreneurial education programming training from Enactus members. The goal was for them to be equipped to launch their own business by the end of the school year. This year’s youth successfully sold their products at the Refresh Annapolis Valley Stratchfest Retro Gaming Carnival.

Enactus Acadia is composed of members from faculties and fields of study across the board, including business, kinesiology and Environmental Science. 

Although it might seem as though only business students are attracted to entrepreneurship, Sara Baxter, President of Enactus Acadia says this is a common misconception and that diversity is the key to a successful team. 

“Enactus Acadia actively tries to recruit students from all programs across campus,” she says.“We believe problems can be solved with different perspectives involved.”

This is an approach that proved to be effective at this year’s regional competition, and as they prepare for Nationals in Vancouver this May, the team is excited to welcome new team members in the upcoming year.

Learn more about Enactus Acadia and follow their journey to Nationals on their official Facebook and Instagram accounts.