Empowering the Next Generation of Canada’s Entrepreneurs: Q&A with Samsung Partner Enactus Canada

At Samsung Canada, we’re committed to empowering youth to achieve their full potential through education. One of the key ways we do this is by partnering with like-minded organizations to provide students with access to technology. Jennifer Groh, our Senior Director of Corporate Marketing and Citizenship, recently sat down with Nicole Almond, Samsung partner and President of Enactus Canada, to chat more about what we’ve accomplished through the partnership and the exciting “Solve For Tomorrow” challenge we have planned for this year.

For starters, what does Enactus do and what is your role within the organization?

Enactus is a national charity that is shaping generations of entrepreneurial leaders who are passionate about advancing the economic, social and environmental health of Canada. We engage over 3,000 students on more than 70 campuses coast to coast. The Enactus network of business, academic and student leaders spans 35 countries and is unified by a single vision—to create a better, more sustainable world for us all.

As the President of Enactus Canada, I lead a passionate, entrepreneurial team of 12 that constantly strives to create more opportunities for our students to gain the skills, knowledge and experience they will need as the leaders of tomorrow!

Tell us a bit about the partnership between Enactus and Samsung Canada?

Samsung Canada has been a partner of Enactus Canada since 2019. We’ve worked together to empower Enactus teams with the resources they need to deliver innovative projects that use science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to help improve local communities.

This year, we are excited to take our partnership with Samsung Canada one step further with the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Challenge. This year’s challenge will empower Enactus teams to develop solutions to a specific economic, social and/or environmental need in their community, such as education; sustainability; diversity, equality & inclusion; and mental health.

What have been some of the highlights of previous Solve For Tomorrow Challenges?

We’re proud of the extensive reach our partnership with Samsung has had, inspiring over 250 Enactus students to come up with solutions to community issues that have positively impacted more than 2,400 people. Through these projects, over 1,400 students were educated on the benefits of STEM and 14,000 people now have new or improved access to information, communication and technology. Project Square Roots and Project HeartStarter are two examples of the Samsung-sponsored community projects our Enactus teams have worked on.

Project Square Roots was created by Saint Mary’s University students to tackle the food security problem in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Square Roots works with restaurants to offer surplus meals that would otherwise go to waste, at a reduced price for people in need. Thanks to the partnership with Samsung Canada, Enactus Saint Mary’s developed the Square Roots Token App, which allows customers to purchase tokens on their phone, and present it to participating restaurants to redeem for a meal.

Project HeartStarter was created by Enactus students at Memorial University of Newfoundland to tackle the need for immediate emergency medical care, by creating a drone-powered Automated External Defibrillator (AED) delivery service. Their project transports life-saving AEDs via drones to cardiac arrest victims in under 3 minutes. This year, over 130 AEDs were logged for the province and the pilot drone is in development and testing.

What are you looking forward to for this year’s Solve For Tomorrow Challenge?

Everyone here at the Enactus Canada National office is extremely excited to expand our partnership with Samsung Canada through the Solve for Tomorrow Challenge. We’re eager to see how students from across Canada will develop innovative solutions this year to some of the world’s most pressing challenges!

What’s in store for the organization going forward?

Despite the uncertainty created by COVID-19, we saw more Enactus students engaged in the program this year. We know that participation in Enactus provides our students with the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in their communities, while gaining the experience, skills and contacts necessary to build their careers. We are excited to continue growing our program, impacting more students and engaging more schools across the country. We cannot wait to bring together our network again for our Expositions in 2022!

For more information on how Samsung Canada is empowering the next generation through education, visit: http://csr.samsung.com/en-ca/localMain.do