Five SFU student projects—all social ventures aimed at creating positive change—were chosen from 10 finalists to win Ashoka Canada’s Be a Changemaker Challenge Nov. 23.

In October, Ashoka ran a boot camp to train students how to build and fund sustainable ventures.

The contestants were eligible for up to $1,000 each in seed funding to launch their social ventures, in addition to incubation support through Ashoka Canada and Ashoka’s Youth Venture.

Most of the entrants were from SFU lecturer Shawn Smith’s Bus 492 class in social entrepreneurship and innovation, which teaches the fundamentals of creating sustainable businesses while coaching students through the process.

“More than just community engagement, I think it is entirely critical to instill a sense of responsibility, and possibility, in our emerging leaders,” says Smith.
A few examples of winning SFU student projects:

• Fusion Kitchen would employ recent immigrant women with culinary skills to teach affordable, authentic, hands-on cooking classes. This builds social networks and job skills, provides income and offers a real experience for those interested in learning to cook authentic cultural cuisine. Students will pilot a class early this month.
• Green Dirt envisions a restaurant composting service that turns organic waste into rich fertilizer for local farms and gardens for a fee comparable to or cheaper than regular disposal.
• Aspire aims to provide employment opportunities in the software testing industry for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) by leveraging characteristics of the disorder for a competitive advantage.

Smith encourages students to design a sustainable project at the start of class. Six are currently underway while three from the spring class continue.