UNB student wins first place prize at annual CCSBE business conference
Author: UNB Newsroom
Posted on Nov 4, 2021
Category: UNB Fredericton
Last month, the Canadian Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (CCSBE) held their annual conference at the University of New Brunswick's J Herbert Smith Centre for Technology Management and Entrepreneurship (JHSC).
The event is designed to bring together some of Canada's best practitioners, academics, researchers and public policy advocates to network, share ideas and help small businesses grow. The conference also features a pitch competition open to students from across Canada who aspire to be entrepreneurs.
The conference is held annually by a Canadian university and for the first time UNB was an official host.
"The J Herbert Smith Centre was very excited to host the Canadian Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship annual conference," says Dr. Dhirendra Shukla, chair of JHSC. “Witnessing the amazing research being conducted in collaboration with CCSBE was inspiring. We are looking forward to seeing the results of the partnerships ignited at the conference.”
The three-day virtual event featured a variety of speakers from across the globe to discuss the theme, “Driving Economic Recovery: Innovation, Technology and Innovation,” focusing on rebuilding a stronger economy in face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
"CCSBE could not have chosen a better university than UNB to host our 2021 annual conference,” says Mary Kilfoil, executive director of CCSBE. “As we re-open our economies, there has never been a more important time to convene, collaborate and share leading-edge approaches to build resilient companies for Canada's future. UNB serves an exemplar of best practice in creating a pipeline of entrepreneurial talent and knowledge retained in the local ecosystem and generating regional economic benefits.”
More than 30 students from across Canada with a passion for business applied to be part of the much-anticipated pitch competition organized by CCSBE. Of the top 10 finalists, three lucky students had a chance to win cash prizes and one-on-one mentorships with experts in business and entrepreneurship.
This year UNB Fredericton engineering student Moneeb Kassimi won first place for his business, Tutor on Time, an online platform that connects students with affordable tutors of their choosing.
First prize
Tutor on Time by Moneeb Kassimi, UNB Fredericton
A SaaS-based (software as a service) solution that connects students with tutors from their own educational institutes on short notice at an affordable price.
Second prize
Nutri Choice by Anshika Na, Humber College Zero waste, no plastic, bio-degradable and nutritious edible cutlery.
People’s Choice
Halleyx by Ayswarya Ashok Kumar‚ Conrad School of Business and Entrepreneurship
A blockchain enabled SaaS platform to automate the background verification process for employers.
You can learn more about the 2021 business conference and find the full list of conference speakers from the CCSBE.
Media contact: Kathleen McLaughlin
Photo credit: Pexels