Developing sustainable solutions and creating new jobs on the African continent through social-entrepreneurial project ideas and in collaboration with civil society: this was the common goal of the 89 projects submitted by Enactus student teams at 68 universities from 13 different countries participating in the global Action with Africa Challenge that takes place for the first time this year. On Thursday 29 September 2022, the eight top teams, which had been selected by an international panel of 150 jurors, presented their projects in live pitches in the auditorium of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Bonn. Then the top four Enactus Teams were selected who will be invited to the Enactus World Cup in Puerto Rico in early November and pitch their projects in the final.

Alongside the main sponsor from the public sector (BMZ/GIZ), the Wilo-Foundation is the first private “anchor” sponsor of “Action with Africa” and also sat on the jury, represented by Evi Hoch and David Höltgen.

Each of the eight teams that have made it this far will receive a prize of 8,000 euros. The first four projects described below will also have an opportunity to participate in the Enactus World Cup in Puerto Rico at the end of October, where they can win additional prizes totalling 105,000 euros:

Project No 1: “BettaCoal” of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University, Makurdi, Nigeria

Brief description: producing a smokeless solid cooking fuel made of dry, waste forest products and agricultural residues to address the lack of clean water and affordable cooking energy in Nigeria.

Project No 2: “FishWaste“ of Cairo University, Egypt

Brief description: producing medical bandages and pharmaceuticals for the treatment of skin diseases and burn injuries, using fish skin that would otherwise be disposed of as waste and burnt, at high environmental cost.

Project No 3: “Sayla” of Ain Shams University, Egypt

Brief description: providing an alternative to disposable diapers using chemical free materials that do not harm babies’ skin, come at a more affordable price and are reusable.

4 Project No 4: “Grow Green” of Modern Academy, Egypt

Brief description: reusing agricultural waste, especially cotton stalks, for the production of chipboard, bioethanol and fertiliser.

Project No 5: “Recycoal” of RWTH Aachen, Germany

Brief description: RecyCoal has developed a pyrolyser system converting crop residues, which would otherwise be a waste product, to biochar. The low-cost pyrolysis drum is easy to produce and its use does not require much practice. The biochar produced can be used for cooking instead of wood or coal, or for producing Terra Preta, a soil improver.

Project No 6: “PUP” of Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria

Brief description: PUP Industries is a social business that wants to fight plastic pollution by using plastic waste for manufacturing products. The flagship product is shoe polish made from LDPEs. LDPEs usually clog drain pipes and waste dumps and also escape into waterbodies, which leads to the contamination of water and soil. PUP shoe polish is the first shoe polish produced in Nigeria.

Project No 7: “RunAm” of Federal University of Technology, Nigeria

Brief description: RunAm is a start-up delivering fresh groceries from local markets and stores to customers within one hour. Since local traders are still feeling the impacts of the pandemic, the project wants to provide them with opportunities to win back lost customers and be more resilient in future crises.

8 Project No 8: “Akuna Soap” of Southern Adventist University, United States

Brief description: Akuna Soap Industry wants to empower women in Zambia to make a difference in their communities by selling affordable, high-quality, healthy soap. The women are trained on how to sell the soap so they can work as sales reps and put their knowledge into practice, earn an income and build a better life for themselves and their families.

The jury with representatives from more than 40 countries who watched the presentations live in Bonn or online was impressed with the teams’ enthusiastic performance, their business plans and the social impact they create for people and the environment in Africa.

In addition, the “Wilo Excellence Awards” in the “water” subcategory were presented in Bonn for the first time, with Head of Corporate Social Responsibility of WILO SE Ricarda Pomper announcing the winners. The winning team from Australia, Enactus UNSW Sydney, with their project “Water Purification Micro-factories” will receive support and project funding of 3,000 euros. The second place, with 2,000 euros, went to the “ShuCliniQ” project from South Africa, Enactus Rhodes. The team of Enactus Regent University from the United States with its “TripleE” project was the happy winner of the third prize and a funding amount of 1,000 euros.

For more information about “Action with Africa”, please click here.