Supporting the entrepreneurs in our community means recognizing the amazing work women are doing and celebrating their successes. This past month, Alberta Women Entrepreneurs had the pleasure of honoring four outstanding Alberta women for their dedication and commitment to the Alberta business community at the 2022 AWE Awards.
Above (left to right): Jewel Buksa, Jennifer Schaeffer, Breanne Everett, Vanessa Marshall, Marcela Mandeville.
Celebration of Achievement Award
Awarded to an exceptional female entrepreneur who has achieved recognizable success and acts as a role model for women in business. This visionary woman is an inspirational leader who has built an entrepreneurial venture in Alberta that has made a significant impact on the economy and the community.
Recipient: Manjit Minhas, Minhas Breweries, Distilleries and Winery
Over 20 years ago, when she was 19, Manjit and her brother Ravinder set out to make a spirit that they could sell in local liquor stores. In just a short time, that idea snowballed into over 90 brands. Now, Manjit is the founder and owner of Minhas Distillery, Minhas Brewery, and Minhas Winery, earning her enough of a reputation to take a role as an investor on Dragon’s Den. Manjit is a true example of the vigour and vision that Alberta women entrepreneurs have in creating successful and long-lasting businesses on the global stage. Though she has faced challenges throughout her career, she reminds other entrepreneurs: failure is not the opposite of success; it’s a part of success.
Emerging Entrepreneur Award
Awarded to a female entrepreneur who has built a strong, scalable business foundation and has achieved early success.
Recipient: Jennifer Schaeffer, Onlea Enterprises
Onlea is more than an online learning platform; it’s a commitment to accessible, masterful, and quality education that helps their clients grow. From the opioid crisis to the proper use of pronouns, this empathy-led team is creating meaningful content while revolutionizing what it means to learn online. Jennifer focuses on combining different learning styles with gaming techniques, graphic design, and film to produce content that’s engaging. Her business recently launched a research and development project that will utilize artificial intelligence to further individualize the learning experience.
Indigenous Entrepreneur Award
Awarded to a leading Indigenous woman entrepreneur with a strong business concept and demonstrates plans for future growth and commitment to the community.
Recipient: Vanessa Marshall, Jack59 Inc.
Spurred by a desire to spend more time with her daughter, Vanessa founded Jack59, a company specializing in hair care. But Jack59 products are far from your average shampoo and conditioners. Built on the idea that small changes can have a big impact, all of the products are made with the goal of reducing single-use plastic consumption and global water transport. Vanessa is helping create self-aware consumers while providing a business environment that allows her staff with flexible working hours so they can prioritize their family, just like she did.
Upsurge Entrepreneur Award
Awarded to a female entrepreneur who has built a solid foundation for her business and is now experiencing rapid growth.
Recipient: Breanne Everett, Orpyx Medical Technologies Inc.
Though she loved working as a clinician, Breanne recognized that Orpyx would allow her to have a greater impact on the diabetes community. Rather than offering care for patients who were suffering from limb loss, she wanted to create an innovative technology that could help prevent it from happening in the first place. Now her team works with two centres of excellence across the province in order to ensure that people living with diabetes can maintain their mobility, something that will change lives for thousands of individuals. And Breanne is just getting started when it comes to her insole technology, believing that in the future it could be used for all kinds of movement-related situations.
Since 2012, the annual AWE Awards have recognized more than 1000 women entrepreneurs in Alberta as award nominees. This year’s recipients join a prestigious list of Alberta entrepreneurs who are making a difference in their communities and around the world. Special thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, ATB Financial!
AWE has worked with thousands of entrepreneurs through coaching, mentorship, leadership development, business advising, access to capital, and access to networks over the last 27 years.
To learn more about the AWE Awards, please visit https://www.awebusiness.com/2022-awards-celebration
