Ecoloodi

Ludiwine Clouzot of Ecoloodi. / Ludiwine Clouzot, d'Ecoloodi.
Business Profile

Ecoloodi is a bilingual non-profit organization that teaches youth about water conservation. With the help of an animated water drop called Loodi, the organization uses educational games and fables to teach children from 3-12 years of age about the importance of water to our health and to the future of the environment.

My Story

After finishing a PhD in Water Engineering, Ludiwine Clouzot moved from France to Québec City to undertake post-doctorate studies in ecosystem modelling. During her time at Laval University, she realized that she wanted to focus more on preserving water resources and auquatic ecosystems.

Having worked as a teacher while pursuing her PhD, Ludiwine also understood the impact children can make when educated early on about environmental preservation. She decided to combine these two passions and develop a tool that would engage and empower children to work toward achieving her vision of “water for all and forever”.

Ludiwine relocated to Toronto, where she could reach her target audience of English and French communities from Canada, France and Africa. Once in Toronto, she took the opportunity to connect with various organizations that could bring her closer to her dream, including the Center for Social Innovation, MaRS Discovery District, World Wildlife Fund and the Royal Ontario Museum. She learned about Futurpreneur Canada while searching online for financing opportunities. One year after moving to Toronto, Ludiwine launched Ecoloodi.

Though she has faced many challenges, Ludiwine loves life as an entrepreneur and feels it’s a great career path for others. “Entrepreneurship allows people to follow their dreams and make an impact in their community,” she says. “I’m happy to see more and more people deciding to become entrepreneurs.”

It’s still early days for Ecoloodi, but the future looks bright for the organization, for Ludiwine and for the environment she so passionately protects.

Advice

My biggest advice would be to deeply evaluate what you want to accomplish as an entrepreneur before starting. You’ll face many difficult times and that’s the only way to keep going. Be passionate about what you’re doing. Join different networks and talk about your idea with as many people as possible. You need to go outside yourself and challenge your idea! And most importantly, take your time. I feel that when you have money, you’ll go faster but then your idea does not have enough time to evolve.”