Pictured left to right are members of Enactus Windsor who earned multiple awards at the Enactus Canada Central Canada Regional Exposition: Ryan Gadoury, Amal Jose, Ramla (Rana) Hammoud, Anita Jafari, Nash Wilkins and Luca Bienaz. (SUBMITTED BY RYAN GADOURY/University of Windsor)
By Victor Romao
A student-led entrepreneurship team at the University of Windsor is heading to the national stage after earning several top finishes at the Enactus Canada Central Canada Regional Exposition.
Enactus Windsor placed in all four Impact Challenges at the competition, becoming one of only three post-secondary institutions in the country to do so — and the only one in Central Canada.
Operating out of the Odette School of Business, Enactus Windsor is supported through core funding, faculty advising and dedicated office space, with the majority of its members — more than 70 per cent — coming from Odette.
“I am incredibly proud of our team of over 100 dedicated students spanning every faculty across campus,” said team president Andrew Booth. “The work they put into these award-winning projects was exceptional and I couldn’t have asked for a better team.”
Among the honours, Enactus Windsor claimed first place in the Canadian Tire Environmental Sustainability Challenge for its 100% Fish project and first place in the Desjardins Community Empowerment Challenge for REEDify.
The team also earned second runner-up in the TD Entrepreneurship Challenge and runner-up in the Innovation and Impact Challenge.
Both first-place projects will represent Enactus Windsor at the Enactus Canada National Exposition in Montreal from May 6 to 8.
The 100% Fish initiative focuses on reducing waste generated by the fish-processing industry by transforming fish byproducts into dog treats.
The project partners with local processor John O’s Foods and applies circular economy principles to reduce landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions while generating economic value.
“By partnering with John O’s Foods and leveraging circular economy principles, the project reduces landfill waste, lowers greenhouse gas emissions and creates economic value for the Great Lakes region,” said Booth.
Amal Jose, a second-year civil engineering student, serves as project manager for 100% Fish and has been involved in Enactus through several initiatives.
“Receiving the Canadian Tire Environmental Sustainability Challenge award is incredibly meaningful to both our team and me,” said Jose. “It serves as a symbol of the hard work, dedication, and innovation that have gone into building 100% Fish from the ground up.”
Jose said the project’s strength lies in its scalability and community partnerships.
“What makes this initiative especially impactful is its alignment with circular economy principles,” said Jose. “Not only are we diverting waste from landfills, but we are also creating a value-added product that contributes to a more sustainable and responsible supply chain.”
Enactus Windsor’s other championship project, REEDify, addresses the spread of invasive phragmites in Ontario wetlands by converting the plant into products such as single-use straws, livestock silage and bug repellent.
“By harvesting this biomass, the project restores native ecosystems, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and in the future it hopes to create green jobs,” said Booth. “Every product turns an environmental problem into a circular, community-benefiting solution.”
Booth said the organization’s success is the result of sustained effort over the academic year.
“The biggest lesson I learned from this experience is that consistency and hard work pay off,” he said. “We spent 10 hard months developing these projects, and you never know if it’s really going to pay off at competitions until you’re actually in that moment.”
Enactus Windsor is one of several experiential learning opportunities supported by the Odette School of Business, giving students hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, innovation and community impact while competing at the national level.