Newswise — Eight budding entrepreneurs—all University of Saskatchewan students or graduates 35 or under—have been named finalists in the 2008 BioVenture Business Plan Challenge and will go on to compete for a $50,000 prize to help take the winning business plan from idea to reality.
The finalists were announced today at Innovation Place by U of S Acting Associate Vice-President Jim Basinger. Their ideas for a Saskatchewan-based "bio-economy" business range from biodigestors for alternative energy to extracts for the cosmetic industry derived from a thorny shrub known as seabuckthorn.
"The U of S Industry Liaison Office is proud to partner with Saskatchewan Agriculture to celebrate these outstanding young U of S graduates and entrepreneurs who will undoubtedly be running successful businesses in Saskatchewan that will enhance job and wealth creation in our thriving bio-economy," said Basinger.
The eight entrepreneurs associated with the "final five" business plans will receive intensive coaching and mentorship to refine their plans. The entrepreneur whose plan is judged the best will receive $50,000 from the ILO to launch or run his or her venture. The winner will be announced early in the new year.
As well, all finalists will have the fee waived for submitting their business plans to the Saskatchewan Angel Investors Network (SAINT) for funding consideration. SAINT is a member-based group of investors with an interest in investing in early stage and growth-focused Saskatchewan companies.
Judges include representatives from Saskatchewan Agriculture, ILO, SAINT and the Saskatchewan Entrepreneurial Foundation.
The finalists are:
Joel Ahmed, a master's student in ag and bioresource engineering, aims through his company ViSens to build small-scale ethanol plants supported by community refineries. The feedstock is non-food bio-waste from agriculture. His process would provide fuel using technology that is environmentally friendly and non-energy intensive.
Oksana Akhova and Melissa Strom, who both received master's degrees in business administration in 2007, intend to use fireweed, a common Saskatchewan plant, to produce herbal tea leaves, as well as develop seabuckthorn extract for the cosmetic industry. Seabuckthorn is known for its exceptional nutrient and antioxidant qualities.
Patrick Mah, a 2006 commerce graduate, has been working to develop an economically viable "in situ bioremediation" process for use on "brownfields" —contaminated land previously used for industrial purposes. His company, New Wave Environmental Technologies ("New Wave" ) Limited, will enable brownfields that are visually unappealing and health hazards to become productive, useful and valuable real estate again.
Karthikeyan Narayanan and Zafer Dallal Bashi, both PhD students in food and bio-product sciences, are developing a methyl ester/biodiesel system that uses waste vegetable oil as a feedstock. This will be a co-operative based on building a network for waste oil collection and conversion to biodiesel, thereby fostering development of biodiesel production in local communities.
Scott Parry and Brandon Hall, both 2008 engineering graduates, are developing an "anaerobic biodigestor" that can help with agricultural livestock waste disposal while providing methane and high-grade fertilizer. By providing environmentally friendly processing of animal waste, Parry and Hall intend to help both the producer and the province harness a wasted, renewable energy resource.
The U of S ILO, located at Innovation Place, is dedicated to helping U of S researchers, faculty, staff, and students identify inventions arising from their research and to work with them to protect their intellectual property and help commercialize promising new technologies.
About the U of S: Located in the heart of Saskatoon, the U of S is one of the leading medical doctoral universities in Canada. With 58 degrees, diplomas and certificates in over 100 areas of study, the University is uniquely positioned in the areas of human, animal and plant studies. World-class research facilities, renowned faculty and award-winning students make the U of S a leader in post-secondary education.
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