Sage South Africa supports students' entrepreneurial efforts for upliftment

The University of Pretoria's winning team

Enactus is an international non-profit organisation that connects students with academic and business leaders to assist in developing a sustainable entrepreneurial culture in communities.

Sustainable community outreach projects

The organisation runs an annual competition which encourages students from 37 countries to develop and implement sustainable community outreach projects. With the support and encouragement of their faculty advisors and a local business advisory board, Enactus students apply business concepts to develop community outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need.

Through their Enactus experience the students gain leadership, communication, teamwork and other success skills. Also of note is their development of self-confidence, the business mentoring they gain through their advisory boards, and the networking opportunities through their connection with business leaders at national and international competitions. The result is a different type of graduate, who is business-minded, success oriented with a very strong work ethic.

The South African competition was held mid-July and 25 higher education institutes participated by presenting their projects and their results to a panel of judges, including business leaders and representatives from Sage SA.

"It is the third consecutive year for our company to be involved in the competition and it is a privilege to be part of an initiative which changes the lives of people in need. The dedication of the students and the quality of their projects were incredibly inspiring," says Nozipho Tshabalala, organisational development consultant for Sage SA and also a judge at the event.

Encouraging an entrepreneurial approach to helping communities

This year's winner was the team from the University of Pretoria and they will compete in the Enactus World Cup Competition from 29 September to 1 October in Cancun, Mexico. The team presented two projects, one focusing on securing a sustainable stream of income for the St. John's Home in Johannesburg, supporting 600 orphaned and vulnerable children. Their second project, called Kickbax, empowered a budding entrepreneur to apply his artistry skills and create job opportunities for his community members.

"This winning team's project presentations were clear, crisp, focused and effectively incorporated all the required business concepts. Their passion and team spirit was a definite outcome of the entrepreneurial spirit they have instilled in the communities they impacted on," says Tshabalala.

"Enactus values Sage SA's support and commitment to making a difference in the lives of students and the community. As an organisation, we are proud of the South African leg of the competition and it surely gives us hope that our students are making a real impact in their communities and are changing the world one step at a time. We are also extremely excited about the outcome of the global event in which the University of Pretoria will be representing South Africa," says Enactus South Africa CEO, Letitia de Wet.

"We would like to wish these students and their mentors all of the best in preparing for the final round," concludes Tshabalala.

For more information go to www.enactus.org.