Sarah Croft

The Centre for Social Enterprise (CSE) recently celebrated the graduation of the 2023-24 cohort of social ventures at an event held at The Lantern on May 10th, 2024. The graduates were awarded their incubator plaques in recognition of their hard work and dedication over the past year, and enjoyed a celebratory meal with fellow social entrepreneurs, advisors, and CSE staff.

As the graduates move on to continue developing their ventures, the CSE is excited to welcome a new group of five social ventures into its incubator for the 2024-25 cohort.

The Graduates

The graduates of the 2023-24 cohort included a group of social ventures that spent the past year completing a range of training and development programs, from human-centered design sessions to workshops on scaling and social financing. These ventures, each led by passionate and driven social entrepreneurs, worked to build and refine their ventures, seeking to create meaningful change in their community.

As part of the graduation event, the new 2024-25 cohort planted seeds as a symbolic gesture for their venture growth over the upcoming year.

Joining the Incubator

The CSE is proud to introduce the following ventures and their founders as part of the 2024-25 incubator cohort:

• FullSTEAM (Mathew Emshey, BSc.): A Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM)-focused community engagement service based in St. John’s. FullSTEAM aims to stimulate economic development in Newfoundland and Labrador by offering fun, educational events and programs that empower local communities.
  
• Bimpegold (Blessing Adedokun-Awojodu, MALA): A sustainable fashion brand that upcycles pre-loved clothes and fashion pieces to create high-quality, bespoke apparel. In addition to offering eco-friendly fashion, Bimpegold provides fashion training to local communities, promoting responsible fashion consumption and consumer involvement in the design process.
  
• Labrador Consulting Services (Erin Snow, B.Ed.): This venture specializes in cultural competency training for workplace professionals. Its goal is to equip participants with the intangible knowledge needed to foster positive socio-economic impacts in their workplaces and communities.
  
• Expertise Hub (Roxana Fazli, PhD, Sociology): A co-operative venture aimed at developing a directory of professional services and resources provided by immigrants to Canada. Expertise Hub seeks to harness the often-overlooked expertise of immigrants to address emerging community needs and contribute to various sectors.
  
• STREAMS Education (Tisia Stemp, Interdiscniplinary PhD): This venture offers a cross-curricular, gamified learning experience that integrates society, technology, research, experiential learning, arts, mathematics, and sciences. Its digital curriculum is grounded in social-emotional learning and empowers educators to create inclusive, peaceful learning environments while exploring complex socio-cultural themes.

Support and Development

Throughout their time in the incubator, these new ventures will participate in a variety of training opportunities, including human-centered design, strategic planning, pitch coaching and more. They will also receive personalized business advisor support, providing tailored guidance in key areas such as governance, business planning, and scaling. The business advisors include, Terry Hickey of Conach Consulting, Constanza Safatle of Newbornlander and Courtney Rowsell of Calibre – Valentine Gold Mine.

The ventures also benefit from access to the CSE’s Social Changemaker Space at Memorial University, a collaborative environment where entrepreneurs can work on their ventures, hold team meetings, and engage with the broader social enterprise community.

Looking Ahead

As the new cohort embarks on their journey, the CSE is excited to see their ventures grow and evolve over the coming year. The incubator will continue to offer resources, training, and mentorship to help these ventures reach their full potential.

Applications for the next cohort of the Social Ventures Incubator will open in January 2025. For more information on the incubator and how to apply, please visit our webpage here