For Immediate Release
March 13, 2024

Between March 1-3, 2024, the second econext clean growth Ideathon took place in partnership with Navigate Entrepreneurship Centre and Memorial University’s Centre for Social Enterprise.

Taking place in Corner Brook, the event saw 36 post-secondary students from Memorial University’s Grenfell Campus and the College of the North Atlantic compete to come up with solutions for reducing and/or repurposing waste material in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL).

The students, from many different disciplines, formed 8 teams. Each team worked together to develop their ideas which they pitched to a panel of expert judges. The students received mentorship and participated in workshops and networking throughout the weekend to help build their ideas. The top three teams walked away with prizes totalling $6,000. A Social Impact Award of $1,000, sponsored by the Centre for Social Enterprise, was also awarded to one team.

First-Place Winners

The first-place prize, sponsored by Hatch, was awarded to Team Waste Watchers (Dan Langdon, Riley Lockyer, and Ryan Whalen) who pitched a coordinated collection and processing of organic matter , and the sale of resulting fertilizing compost soil to suit agricultural demands.

Second-Place Winners

The second-place prize went to Team Green Revive (Andy Guilhem Awongue Nkada, Jemy Sara Joy, Soham Savant, Madison Organ, and Muhammad Zeeshan Siddiqui) who presented “Salt-ernative” – a de-icer alternative made from forestry and fisheries waste to reduce salt and its harmful effects. Green Revive were also the winners of the Social Impact Award.

Third-Place Winners

The third-place prize, sponsored by TD Bank, was presented to Team Eco Souls (Bhashitha Konara, Marie Lopez Cruz, Poornima Wijerathna) who introduced “Eco-Rewards” – a gamified approach to recycling with tangible rewards for participants.

In addition to the prize sponsors, econext would like to thank its opening ceremonies sponsor, NL Workforce Innovation Centre; event sponsor, Fuel 4 the Future; and meal sponsors, Electronic Products Recycling Association and Memorial University’s Cenovus Centre of Excellence in Sales and Supply Chain Management.

The econext Ideathon was made possible through partnership with the Business + Higher Education Roundtable, and with support from the Government of Canada.

More events will be taking place in 2024-25. If you are interested in partnering on a future event, please contact Chelsea Linfield at chelsea@econext.ca or Alex Rumbolt at alex@econext.ca.

econext is an association that accelerates clean growth in Newfoundland and Labrador and works on behalf of over 200 members to foster environmentally sustainable economic development. More information can be found at https://econext.ca.

Navigate is a champion of entrepreneurship in western Newfoundland, providing business coaching and support to the local entrepreneurial community and to students, faculty, staff, and alumni of MUN Grenfell Campus and CNA Corner Brook Campus. Learn more at https://navigatesmallbusiness.ca.

Since its official launch in 2017, the Centre for Social Enterprise has established itself as a hub of social enterprise expertise and activity with a wide network of collaborators and partners both within the province and beyond. Learn more at https://www.mun.ca/social-enterprise.

The Business + Higher Education Roundtable (BHER) is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization bringing together some of Canada’s largest companies and leading post-secondary institutions. Since 2015, BHER has worked to harness the strengths of Canada’s business and post-secondary education sectors to build opportunities for young Canadians, boost innovation and drive collaboration. Learn more at www.bher.ca. Visit our WIL Hub for ways to explore, invest in and create quality WIL opportunities.

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