The startup community in Fredericton is organizing Startup Weekend New Brunswick: Social Impact Edition, to take place Feb. 23 to 26.

Startup Weekends are part of a global movement in which people with an interest in starting a business come together for one intensive weekend to work on the early stages of a startup. On the Friday evening, they present ideas and break into teams. By Sunday, they pitch their companies.

The interesting thing about the Fredericton event is it will target social ventures, or companies that aim to produce a profit but also want to benefit society or the environment.

“This year we will be encouraging entrepreneurs from all corners of our province to come out and participate in creating ideas and opportunities that drive real-world social change,” said the organizers in a statement. “In order to help foster ideas of how you can effect real change in your community, we have the City of Fredericton as a partner. They will be presenting a list of challenges that they are working on as part of their 'Digital Fredericton' initiative.”

The organizers have lined up several mentors to aid the teams, and there will be talks by serial entrepreneur David Alston and SomaDetect CEO Bethany Deshpande.

The event will begin at 5:30pm Feb. 23 at the The Ville in Fredericton. You can find more information and registration here.