Our CEO, Jon Harper represented Future Foundations as a Judge at the Enactus UK 2016 National Competition.
Jon Harper says, “It was an incredibly inspiring event with students from across the UK presenting their social action projects, they are the future leaders and give us hope for a more sustainable world. We support Enactus and encourage our alumni to join this incredible organisation at University”.
The dynamic, energy filled event brought together 800 university students, 60 academics, and over 400 senior business leaders. The Enactus teams competed for the title of Enactus UK National Champion through showcasing their community outreach projects to business executives serving as judges. The students were evaluated by how successfully they applied business concepts and an entrepreneurial approach to improve the quality of life of those in need.
Enactus Nottingham won the competition after showcasing two of their inspirational social enterprises. The first, Re-covered, employs people in need to refurbish unwanted furniture which is then sold on to residents in housing associations. The second, Aquor, uses their own water filter design to provide clean water to thousands in Cameroon. Enactus Nottingham will go on to represent Enactus UK in the Enactus World Cup 2016 and will compete against 35 other countries in Toronto, Canada in September. Last year’s UK champion, from the University of Southampton is the reigning World Champion after their barnstorming success in Johannesburg, so the UK are hoping for success again this year.
London has been selected to host the Enactus World Cup in October 2017 for the first time since 2004 and the Enactus UK team are already organising the event and are excited to welcome students, university staff and business leaders from all over the world. Vince Robson, faculty advisor for Enactus Durham said “The past two days have been fantastic. We really had a superb time, our team grew in confidence with every round and were ecstatic to reach the final five. It is now with increase excitement that we look ahead – we’ve set the bar now and are looking forward to the next 12 months.”