Strong showing for Okanagan College Enactus team

Photo: Contributed

Okanagan College’s Enactus team continues to pile up the awards.

The successful business group captured first place in the inaugural Intuit Sustainability Pitch Competition at the Enactus Canada National Exposition, which was held virtually over the last two weeks.

The team also made it to the final four in the overall competition. Overall, it earned it $2,000 that will go back into programming to support current and future initiatives. Wilfrid Laurier University ended up claiming top spot and will compete in the Enactus world championship later this year.

“I am so proud of our presenting and national teams,” Enactus OC pitch team member Danielle Walker said in a press release. “Being the first to win in the best idea pitch category is an amazing feeling, and we hope to defend that title next year.”

Walker, Sunidhi Sobti, Gurjot Singh and Karsten Ensz were on the team that pitched its Backyard Bites idea, whose goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by implementing organic edible landscaping in suburban houses through providing eco-friendly gardening kits and services. That earned it the Intuit Sustainability Pitch Competition title, which was an event within the event.

The Enactus OC squad pitched three projects in the main event: FruitSnaps, CanSave and Rising. FruitSnaps, which repurposes fruit that was destined for the landfill into delicious and healthy snacks, placed third in the event’s Climate Action Challenge for the third year in a row.

If that weren’t enough, graduating Enactus OC president Nicole Sapieha was named one of just six females from across Canada to receive the HSBC Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Award.

Enactus OC has received numerous awards on both the regional and national stages, including its most recent regional win during which it netted three first-place finishes. It is also the only Western Canadian school to ever make it to the final four.