Driving global social impact with innovative technology | Waterloo News

On November 20, GreenHouse held their 33rd Social Impact Showcase at United College, highlighting the impressive achievements of student-led ventures tackling some of the world’s most pressing social challenges.

“The vision for GreenHouse was to have a kind of complimentary piece for Waterloo’s Velocity that focuses on innovation aimed at social or environmental progress,” said Rick Myers, principal at United College. “GreenHouse’s Social Innovators in Training program has provided enriched hands-on education, social entrepreneurship and design thinking to more than 1,000 students, and has assisted in the development of more than 125 student-run ventures. That’s an awful lot of positive impact both for students involved and for society as a whole.“

From a mobile triaging system for livestock farmers in Uganda to an AI technology platform providing soft skills development, GreenHouse announced the four winning teams who received between $1,500 to $3,000 in funding to support their social impact ideas. 

While on a summer fellowship with Engineers Without Borders in Uganda, Waterloo student Gabriel Jabile, discovered that 73 per cent of Ugandan households rely on livestock as their livelihoods. However, only half of these farmers have access to veterinary services, leading to significant livestock health issues and financial losses. 

Enyana Health aims to address these challenges with Amatuungo Aid – a mobile triaging system that offers automated agricultural advice in local languages. This technology, accessible via any mobile phone, helps farmers troubleshoot simple problems independently or connects them to vets for more complex issues.

“My team and I wanted to move beyond just the numbers and really understand the farmers’ struggles,” Jabile said, a biomedical engineering student. “Amatuungo Aid aims to bridge this information gap and improve farmers’ access to expert guidance.” 

Enyana Health’s Amatuungo Aid is currently deployed in one community in Uganda with the initiative plans to expand to include pigs, poultry and rabbits by December. With the Social Impact Fund, the team will be focused on using the grant towards product development, user acquisition and forming partnerships to scale their impact across Uganda.  

Founder of Enyana Health, Gabriel Jabile, receive Social Impact Fund from Del Matto and Myers during GreenHouse’s 33rd Social Impact Showcase held at United College.

co-founder of Impactfy, is transforming the volunteer experience by using AI to connect individuals with global volunteer opportunities that align with their interests, skills and values. The platform aims to make volunteering more accessible and impactful, addressing the growing demand for skilled volunteers.

“There’s a large young population eager to volunteer, but the current systems aren’t just meeting their needs right now,” Yang said during their pre-recorded pitch presentation. “We want to solve this challenge with Impactfy by building a more efficient and motivating environments.” 

In its early stages, Impactfy plans to launch within six months and expand its AI capabilities. Impactfy is reshaping how the world connects to volunteer opportunities, one personalized match at a time. 

Co-founders of Impactfy pose for a photo together while at a conference in California.

Nuhu Abdulmalik, a Faculty of Arts student, is passionate about creating opportunities for African youth to connect globally and engage in meaningful dialogue through Mamo Connect. His project focuses on “virtual exchange,” a technology-driven solution that enables young people from underserved regions in Africa to engage in discussions on topics like peace, education and mentorship.

“My goal is to offer young Africans the opportunity to network, learn, and build peace through virtual exchange,” said Abdulmalik. “By incorporating peace education into these exchanges, we can create a network of peace ambassadors who are equipped to spread positive change in their communities.”  

With more than five years of experience and more than 1,000 hours of facilitated virtual exchanges, Abdulmalik aims to reach 100 young people in the first six months of his program. Through international partnerships, Abdulmalik hopes to empower African youth to become leaders of peace in their communities. 

Del Matto and Myers present Waterloo students, Nuhu Abdulmalik, founder of Mamo Connect, and Bilal Khawaja and Ayra Ali, co-founders of Hunarsa-Ehsaas, with Social Impact Fund towards their startup ventures.

Hunarsa-Ehsaas — $1,500

Co-founded by Faculty of Science students, Bilal Khawaja and Ayra Ali, Hunarsa is revolutionizing soft skills development with an affordable, accessible educational platform designed to empower underserved communities across South Asia.