Written by: Htet Myint
Students from Southern Adventist University’s Enactus chapter, known as Enactus SAU, traveled to the Netherlands to participate in the Enactus World Cup, which took place Oct. 17-20.
According to the global organization’s website, over 42,000 university students participate in Enactus, and the World Cup’s competitors include the national champion teams from more than 32 countries.
Although this year’s World Cup looked different from previous competitions due to organizational changes within Enactus, participating teams were still expected to present entrepreneurial projects making an impact in their communities and focus on the power of business innovation and entrepreneurial action.
The Southern Enactus team that went to the Netherlands consisted of five team members: Kate Savino, junior accounting major; Erick Baltodano, senior business administration major; Brandon Reese, business administration major; Lauryn Daniels, senior business and public relations major and Abigail Cornelious, senior finance major. When the team members were asked about their initial motivations for joining Enactus, a unanimous sentiment emerged: They were drawn to Enactus because of the organization’s proclivity for forging new friendships and uniting students to drive positive global change through the avenue of business.
In April, Enactus SAU was among the teams from 350 universities that presented their projects at the United States National Exposition. The team placed third in the competition, earning it a position in the top one percent of Enactus teams in the country, according to Baltodano, vice president of Enactus SAU.
On July 13, President and CEO of Enactus, Robyn Fehrman, announced in an email to Enactus chapters worldwide that Enactus United States and Enactus Global would be shutting down many of their day-to-day operations, citing several financial challenges.
Despite the global organization being unable to host the Enactus World Cup 2023, Enactus Netherlands and a group of non-U.S. national offices moved forward with a reimagined version of the event. Because the event was seen as controversial, the top-ranked team in the U.S. National Expo chose not to participate, according to Enactus SAU’s staff sponsor, Michelle Doucoumes. This decision allowed Enactus SAU and the Enactus chapter from the University of Texas at Austin, which placed second in the national exposition, to step in and represent the U.S.
Although Southern’s Enactus team did not compete in a traditional Enactus World Cup, team members were still able to showcase their projects and initiatives on a global stage. The team’s primary focus was its project titled “The Akuna Soap Industry.” According to Enactus SAU’s website, Akuna Soap, based at Riverside Farm Institute in Southern Province, Zambia, is an initiative aimed at empowering the local women to create and sell soap.
“[This project] empowers the women of Zambia to become entrepreneurs by selling the soap. So it’s really creating an opportunity for them to provide for their families while meeting the needs of having access to affordable and high-quality soap,” said Savino, president of Enactus SAU.
Akuna Soap was started in 2020 by a student missionary from Southern, Joshua Draget, who went to Zambia, saw a need and started the soap business with Enactus SAU while serving at Riverside, according to Savino. Presently, 140 women have established their independent businesses through Akuna Soap, which Southern’s Enactus team continues to support.
“Having business as a mission is one of our biggest themes, and I think that is something that you definitely see going to this world cup,” emphasized Baltodano. “As students and our Enactus chapter, [we are] grateful that Southern has supported us to do all this.”
