Oakville Beaver | Thursday, October 20, 2022 | 26 insidehalton.com MEET THREE OUTSTANDING ENTREPRENEURS Named As This Year’s MNP Future Leaders By Laurie Wallace-Lynch, photography supplied by MNP Future Leaders Above (L-R) Erika Reyes, CEO & Co-Founder of aks ediglate m-laremelel(eliareMolelmat-y.4d generation of business leaders Founder & CEO of iPOTS. MNP is proud to announce the recipients of the annual MNP Future Leaders mentorship program who are partaking in a business opportunity of a lifetime! Congratulations to Erika Reyes, CEO & Co-Founder of Inwit, Frederick Redding, Founder of Detail Guys, and Stephanie Manica, Founder & CEO of iPOTS. Along with the prestige of being recognized as an MNP Future Leader, Reyes, Redding, and Manica will each receive one year of monthly professional mentorship, guidance and advice from an MNP partner, year-long memberships at participating boards of trade and chambers of commerce, a consultation with media experts, and profile enhancement strategy. MNP, one of Canada’s leading professional services firms that provides accounting, consulting, tax, and digital services, is joined in this initiative by key community partners, including City of Brampton, City of Mississauga, Town of Oakville, Brampton Board of Trade, Mississauga Board of Trade, Oakville Chamber of Commerce, Sheridan ‘ollege, Toronto Metropolitan University, University of Toronto Mississauga, and Star Metroland Media. MNP mentors tailor their advice to the individual needs of each winner and can advise on strategic business plans, scaling a business, establishing competitive benchmarks, and identifying process improvement opportunities. “MNP is proud to support our local business communities and young business leaders with this mentorship program,’ says Jim Molyneux, Regional Managing Partner for MNP in Peel Region. “We created the MNP Future Leaders mentorship program to assist young business leaders as they build their entrepreneurial enterprises and succeed on their own terms. We wanted to provide invaluable mentoring by top- notch professionals to support young entrepreneurs in their efforts to achieve business success and reach their end goals.” Erika Reyes, CEO & Co-Founder of Inwit Erika Reyes’ Zero Waste Takeout App couldn’t come at a better time as restaurants begin to reduce the use of single use plastics. Inwit is Canada’s first Zero Waste Takeout App, offering an innovative solution to single use plastics. It is a reusable container borrowing system with a rewards component and a food ordering platform. “I became an environmentalist b: accident,” admits Reyes. “Eight years ago, | wasn’t connected with sustainability at all, and one day, | saw a documentary on plastic pollution which opened my eyes to the problem. My goal in starting Inwit is to offer a spark of inspiration and help others, like me eight years ago, see that it’s not too late to take climate action. It’s a change that done together can be fun and engaging!” Each stainless-steel container has a trackable NFC tag. “We use the same technology that’s used when you borrow a library book,’ says Reyes. “You create an account online and order from one of our restaurant partners for pick up, and your food is served in Inwit reusable containers. Once you are done, you give them a quick rinse and return them to any participating location within a seven-day period. The faster you do so, the more points you can collect”. They also offer Zero Waste corporate meals with a delivery and empties collection service for orders of 15 plus people. Asked why she applied to the MNP Future Leaders program, Reyes answers: “lam a newcomer, a woman, a person of colour. The MNP Future Leaders mentorship program will provide personalized strategies with a local perspective to advance Inwit’s mission. Together, with the participating cities, media outlet, chamber of commerce, and boards of trade, we will gain the support needed to advance zero waste ackaging in the food industry in our province and around the world. | hope to gain support from MNP to ensure Inwit can scale its mission in the fastest and easiest way. Having access to the knowledge they have acquired by working with so many companies in so many industries, will help us take advantage of opportunities, minimize risk, and gain insights to make better, more informed decisions. This is the main pillar of support we are looking for from the MNP mentorship program.’ One of the main challenges Reyes faces involves changing the habits of restauranteurs as well as consumers. “What we are attempting to ne is change human behavior,” says R “It’s an industry that has always relied on