Stone Hearth Bakery is an award-winning social enterprise located in Halifax, Nova Scotia and is part of Metro Works employment services, who purchased the bakery out of bankruptcy in 1982. Since then, Stone Hearth has provided supportive work experience to enable people with mental health issues overcome persistent barriers excluding them from entering employment. Employees are instructed for 10 months in a specific skillset for baking, but ultimately gain something even more valuable, experience and general employability skills.

Switchback Cyclery is a retail and service-focused bicycle shop in Toronto’s east end in Riverside which functions as non-profit employment social enterprise. Switchback operates with a social mission of propelling community and seeks to encourage people to shop local and buy social. The business has its roots in Sanctuary Toronto, a charitable Christian organization who create healthy and inclusive communities for the most vulnerable in society.

Nnaemeka Ikegwuonu is the CEO of ColdHubs, an award-winning social enterprise that produces “plug and play” modular, solar-powered walk-in cold rooms to reduce food waste in off-grid communities. ‘ColdHubs’ are installed in markets around Nigeria so farmers can store their produce using a flexible pay-as-you-go model. ColdHubs is reducing post-harvest loss by up to 80% for farmers and increasing their income by up to 25%.