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Success for º£½ÇÖ±²¥ social enterprise society

A º£½ÇÖ±²¥ society which aims to transform people’s lives through social enterprise has achieved national recognition.

Enactus º£½ÇÖ±²¥ was among the top UK teams in the 2017 Enactus UK National Expo as a result of its work on three inspiring community enterprises. Enactus is an international non-profit organisation which brings together student, academic and business leaders who are committed to using entrepreneurial action to improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need.

The º£½ÇÖ±²¥ branch made it through to the national round of the annual competition, where it competed for the title of Enactus UK National Champion, after being successful in regional heats.

The team reached the semi-finals of the national event in London after presenting and showcasing the projects they have been involved in over the last year and providing evidence of the impact they have made on people’s lives.

Enactus º£½ÇÖ±²¥, which also recently won the º£½ÇÖ±²¥ Students’ Union Best Society of the Year and Best Society for Employability awards, is currently involved with three social enterprises:

• Save the Woman – a project which works with female offenders in Nigeria to help them set up micro-enterprises and reduce re-offending.
• Revamp – a project which uses craft and creative arts to help victims of domestic violence.
• Pathway – a project which assists people in Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEETs) with employability issues.

President of Enactus º£½ÇÖ±²¥, Penny Coppard, said: 'As part of Enactus, you have the opportunity to engage with a wide network of individuals such as business leaders from all over the world, using their expertise to help guide project development.

'Developing community projects that help vulnerable groups not only gives a sense of fulfilment but it also guides you to be more innovative, creative and resilient, which is what employers are looking for.

'Reaching the national competition means that Enactus º£½ÇÖ±²¥ is one of the the top universities for its positive impact.

'The team presented the impact of our projects to a panel of judges comprised of leaders across the world. Not only was this an amazing opportunity to showcase the impact º£½ÇÖ±²¥ students have made in people's lives it is also a celebration of all the University’s hard work.'

Andy Price, Head of Enterprise Development and Education at º£½ÇÖ±²¥, said: 'The students in Enactus º£½ÇÖ±²¥ are a cross-disciplinary team from across the University and have created some truly inspirational projects.

'In order to achieve the success they have had in this competition they have had to demonstrate that as well as making an impact, the projects are sustainable and it is fantastic that they have achieved this.

'Along the way they have shown some excellent leadership skills including the ability to negotiate and collaborate as well as a true entrepreneurial spirit.

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• business
• social enterprise
• enactus