Over 150 participants are registered to learn from socially conscious entrepreneurs.
Social Enterprise for a Day (SE4D), the two-day conference teaching students about corporate caring, returns to Mount Saint Vincent University (the Mount) for a third year on January 30-31, 2014. Over 150 participants are registered to put expert advice from socially conscious entrepreneurs to the test as they design and launch their own business ideas on the streets of Halifax.
“Social enterprise is about more than just running a business; it’s about seeing business differently,” said Dr. Peter Mombourquette, Chair of the Mount’s Business and Tourism Departments. “We’re teaching students that their success can be measured not just by money alone but also by the ways they can use entrepreneurial skills to improve the world around them.”
Through expert panels and team workshops, SE4D participants will have less than 24 hours to design a social enterprise that has the potential to support the goals of a local community organization. In previous years, students have bagged groceries, encouraged carpooling, and raised awareness and funds for Feed Nova Scotia, the Heart and Stroke Foundation and more.
But participants won’t have to go it alone. On Thursday evening, they will hear from successful social entrepreneurs including Mount grad Jessie Jollymore and the Hope Blooms team, fresh off their inspiring success on CBC’s Dragon’s Den. While Hope Blooms produces and sells salad dressings, this social enterprise invests much of the profit back into the community through scholarship programs, neighbourhood gardens, and cooking classes. SE4D organizers are sure participants can learn a lot from their example.
“Halifax is full of incredible examples of social enterprise,” said Mombourquette. “Being able to bring the innovators behind these success stories together with our future business leaders holds so much potential for the region both socially and economically.”
SE4D is a collaborative partnership between the Mount’s Business department, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education & Development (CEED) and Dalhousie University’s Norman Newman Centre for Entrepreneurship.
Update – Friday, February 7, 2014
Following their animated and inspiring keynote presentation, Hope Blooms junior leaders were surprised with the news that all funds raised by SE4D 2014 projects would be donated to their scholarship fund. Student teams piloted their ideas throughout Halifax on Friday, January 31, raising over $2,500 for Hope Blooms.
For more information:
Ben Boudreau, Public Affairs
t: (902) 457-6439
ben.boudreau@msvu.ca