Barloworld invited the public to the Enactus South African national competition on 28 July at the Sandton Convention Centre.
This event provides university students with an opportunity to compete for a spot at the Enactus World Cup which will take place in Toronto, Canada, later this year.
Competing universities had to generate an innovative business idea aimed at improving the living conditions of the people in their community. The students presented their ideas to the public, their peers and a panel of judges.
The University of Johannesburg, which focused on projects in the Johannesburg area, came up with a programme to create employment with the use of recycled materials.
Mongosuthu University of Technology (MUT), Umlazi, Durban and the Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark also presented their ideas.
The MUT students focused their presentation on education and spoke about their project which was aimed at developing school pupils in their area.
The team built a resource centre where school pupils can read, conduct their research and do their homework. They explained that they had received generous donations from sponsors, who helped make their vision a reality.
The enthusiastic team of university students highlighted, “There is a lack of libraries in the area and we wanted to plant a seed for education. We wanted to give the pupils a chance to read at this centre, in our area [Umlazi].”
The team of students referred to themselves as a ‘power station’.
The students from Vaal University of Technology focused on agriculture and the empowerment of a single mother. “We wanted to make the farms in the Vaal area more effective… We spoke to the people at the various farms that had fallen apart and discovered that there were numerous problems such as fighting and theft.”
One of the farms that the team focused on, Bantu Bonke, was completely transformed by the team’s efforts. The students were able to assist this farm in obtaining a contract from Pick n Pay.
The Vaal University students also explained how they helped a single mother develop and build her bottled preserves business in the Vanderbijlpark area.
Both of the teams received an excited standing ovation from the audience.
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