A team of students from the Durban University of Technology (DUT) held the South African flag high this week having reached the semi-finals and placing in the top 16 at the 2019 Enactus World Cup in California.
Enactus is the world’s largest experiential learning platform dedicated to creating a better world by encouraging the development of the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders and social innovators.
The team secured a place in the Enactus World Cup after they successfully defended their 2018 title at the national leg of the competition, which is sponsored by the MTN SA Foundation.
This year they presented an agri-business which is a project related to a theme the team carried over from 2018. The project is aimed at empowering rural subsistence farmers to transition to small scale farmers by adopting a sustainable vertical farming model of growing fresh produce in tunnels that are built at 47% cheaper than conventional models.
“We are proud of the DUT team and are equally impressed with the solution they presented which will assist in ensuring food security, introducing innovative and cost-effective ways of producing food. As MTN SA Foundation, we always strive to support social entrepreneurs that seek to make a positive impact in our communities. We are proud of DUT’s efforts in flying the flag high at this year’s Enactus World Cup,” says Kusile Mtunzi-Hairwadzi, GM of the MTN SA Foundation.
The Enactus World Cup is a culmination of national competitions where over 72 000 university students from 37 countries compete in national competitions in their respective countries by presenting solutions that have a social impact. The national winners get an opportunity to represent their country at the Enactus World Cup where they will vie with other national winners for a place on the winner’s podium.