Staff Writer
ASTANA, Kazakhstan— The Zimbabwe Delegation was this year represented by four universities at the ENACTUS World CUP held from 1 to 4 October 2024 in Astana Kazakhstan.
This was a big first for the country to take four institutions to the global stage since the program was implemented in Zimbabwe, with a delegation consisting of 38 representatives.
The country’s National Champion was the University of Zimbabwe which was joined by other universities including Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE), the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), and the Midlands State University (MSU) which also participated in different tracks of the competition such as the Action with Africa Challenge and the Early-Stage Competition Category.
The Enactus World Cup 2024 brought together over 700 of the world’s brightest young social entrepreneurs from over 30 countries with a joint mission to solve critical global challenges.
At the Enactus World Cup, students compete, collaborate, make intercultural connections, and are inspired to further develop skills that drive impact through social entrepreneurship.
The Zimbabwean Enactus Country Team performed exceptionally well clinching numerous titles at the global stage with the highlight being the crowning of the National University of Science and Technology as the winner in the Early-Stage Competition Category. NUST was drawn to represent Zimbabwe in League 2, competing against the United Kingdom and Ireland, Puerto Rico, Colombia, India, and South Africa, where it took the first position out of the 6 teams in the pool. Kazakhstan, Canada; Italy, Mexico, Kyrgyzstan, and Brazil were in the first league.
Brazil took the first position and proceeded to the final round of the Early stages against Zimbabwe’s team NUST.
In this final round of the Early-Stage Competition, NUST (league 2 winners) represented Zimbabwe and competed against Brazil (league 1 winners) where NUST won the world championship title in the early-stage category, walking away with the floating trophy.
NUST’s winning project focused on turning a problem into a solution by transforming the high levels of plastic littering in the City of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe into a fuel resource. Bulawayo residents dump too much plastic litter daily with only 9 % of it being recycled and the rest dumped at sites like Ngozi Mine, a municipal dumpsite on the city’s outskirts. With the project, NUST intends to transform the recycling landscape in the country.
Another major highlight was when Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) was crowned the first runner-up out of 137 projects from over 20 countries in the Action with Africa Challenge where they won an investment amount of 7500 Euros for their Organix Project.
Their project extracts chitin in mushrooms providing a natural way to treat water addressing the prevalent waterborne diseases in their community.
The project also provides farmers who are mostly women with biopesticides and natural food preservatives that help them increase income in their farming ventures.
The Action with Africa Challenge promotes entrepreneurial leadership and innovative business ideas on the continent of Africa and aims at positive SDG impact, especially in creating jobs and empowering women.
The program enables high-potential student teams across the globe to scale their business ideas.
The Country Leader and Executive Director for Enactus Zimbabwe Ms Cleopatra Makoni commented on the global event expressing her gratitude towards stakeholders that made the participation of Zimbabwe possible
“I am thrilled to have led the largest ever Zimbabwean delegation to the Enactus World Cup. It is a historic moment for our country as we clinched the World Title in the Early-Stage Category and secured the first runner-up position in Action with Africa Challenge. I want to extend my sincere gratitude to our corporate partners, Delta Corporation Limited, KPMG Zimbabwe, CABS, Old Mutual, POSB, Dairibord, Kefalos, Seedco The Gap, Crystal Candy, and Ruolay Agency for their unwavering support of Enactus. Their funding has enabled us to empower our students to make a significant impact. Additionally, I would like to commend our university institutions for their invaluable contributions and, most importantly, to celebrate the exceptional hard work and dedication of our students”
In the mainstream Enactus Competition track The University of Zimbabwe competed in League 2 against Hongkong, Tajikistan, and the host Kazakhstan.
The league presented fierce competition for our countrymen with Hongkong and Kazakhstan proceeding to the semi-finals from the league. The top four finals saw Korea, Germany, Tunisia, and Morrocco battling it out for the world championship title. Tunis Business School in El Mourouj, Tunisia took the first position with their social enterprise BOVITA.
Tinotenda Chitanda a student at Bindura University of Science Education narrated his lifechanging experience under the Enactus program and how he has been shaped as an entrepreneur.
“Enactus has been a transformative journey, broadening my perspective on entrepreneurship’s
power to drive positive change. Through experiences in the Netherlands and Kazakhstan, I’ve witnessed firsthand how global challenges become opportunities for impact. Enactus has taught me to approach problems with solution-focused determination, rather than despair.
“This journey has instilled in me that entrepreneurship fuelled by creativity and compassion can reshape the world. I’ve seen passionate individuals unite to leverage business to tackle pressing issues. I’ve gained a global network, invaluable lessons, and a renewed sense of purpose. My travels have shown me that our world’s challenges are not the end, but rather invitations to innovate, collaborate and thrive” said Tinotenda.
Also speaking at the event final round judge who represented Zimbabwe from Delta Corporation Limited Ms Patricia Murambinda expressed her delight in the level of innovation she witnessed among the top four teams and encouraged teams to continue with their good work towards advancing the sustainable development goals.
“The youth are the driving force behind a sustainable future. Their innovative solutions that I evaluated today show immense potential and their unwavering commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals inspire us all. It is with great pride that we support Enactus, a program that empowers young people to create positive change. By partnering with the future, we invest in a world where compassion, innovation, and sustainability thrive, and we applaud the work that has been showcased here and encourage the teams despite their titles to continue the good work back at home”
The Enactus World Cup event was graced by several notable attendees, including ecologist and philanthropist, Aselle Tasmagambetova; Director of UN Global Compact Kazakhstan, Dinara Seijaparova; Chairman of the Board of Kazakh Tourism, Kairat Sadvakasson; and Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Sayasat Nurbek, who delivered a special welcome message on behalf of the President of The Republic of Kazakhstan, Kassym- Jomart Tokayev.
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