Two Calgary post-secondary students are being recognized for their entrepreneurial spirit as finalists in a national competition for student business owners.

Making it to the top 12 of the Student Entrepreneur National Competition — presented by HSBC Bank Canada — University of Calgary student Athy Ambikkumar and Mount Royal University student Erin Creegan-Dougherty will pitch their businesses for the $10,000 grand prize at the 2023 Enactus Canada National Exposition from May 1 to 3.

“I am super excited about this opportunity. We’ve been trying to get the word out and try to seek out sponsors to help fund our next steps, going forward in the project,” said Ambikkumar, an ophthalmology resident at Rockyview General Hospital and the owner of Remote Optical.

“I was happy to hear that they’re here to support entrepreneurs such as myself who, as students, are simultaneously working on projects that we hope can impact the way things are run in society.”

“There are far too many cases that go missed, misdiagnosed or left for too long due to poor access to care, especially for patients in remote communities,” Ambikkumar said Monday.

He said he’s long been interested in the intersection of technology and health and had been reading up on some new tech when he realized it might be able to help in ophthalmology. They’re in the later stages of developing a prototype.

“I thought, why not give it a go? And we’ve been pretty happy with the way results have been going for us,” said Ambikkumar.

It can be challenging to work tirelessly as a resident and the business, but Ambikkumar said the fulfillment he feels from working on his passion project helps keep him going.

“It pushes me to balance my time between both,” he said, adding that he’s poured hundreds of hours into Remote Optical since its start in 2021.

The company creates Indigenous-inspired, gourmet backcountry food for people exploring the wilderness. Creegan-Dougherty and her team aim to use locally grown and sustainable ingredients while sharing Métis culture and history.

Ambikkumar and Creegan-Dougherty made it to the finals over hundreds of other student entrepreneurs from across Canada.

Also representing Alberta post-secondaries in the competition is University of Alberta student Ghalia Aamer, who owns TalkMaze. The business works to connect schools and individuals — specifically children aged five to 17 — with professional public speaking and debate training.

The students will present their businesses to panels of Canada’s industry leaders at the national competition in May and the winner will be named Enactus Canada’s Student Entrepreneur National Champion.