Press Release
ENACTUS KENYA AND BIC PARTNER TO ADDRESS EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES IN KENYA
Nairobi, Kenya 5th February 2020: Experiential and the learning platform, Enactus Kenya, in partnership with BIC East Africa will host the first-ever BIC Education Challenge powered by Enactus Kenya. This follows the launch of an annual programme that will focus on providing solutions to challenges facing education in Kenya including: school dropouts, unequal opportunities for disadvantaged children and youth, access to education for girls and women as well as environmental consciousness.
Dubbed “BIC Education Challenge” the competition invites university students to develop projects to tackle education issues in their community. On its part, Enactus Kenya will tap into its existing network of university students to help identify and vet projects that qualify to be featured in the challenge.
Late last year students from all over the country submitted their projects for the challenge and five teams from Moi West University, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University, Moi University-Main Campus, Multimedia University and Egerton University were shortlisted to pitch at the BIC East Africa headquarters in Kasarani on 7th February 2019. The teams will be evaluated on the project’s eligibility, market, user needs and concept.
“Enactus is driven by the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) and through this partnership, Enactus Kenya is committing to help achieve goal number four. That is, to ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.’ We are truly excited to be part of this.” said James Shikwati, Enactus Kenya Country Director.
Three winning teams will receive grants of 1,000USD, 600USD, and 400USD respectively and the winning team will receive mentorship supported by BIC East Africa to prepare them for the 18th Enactus National Competition set to take place in June 2020.
Each year, Enactus Kenya holds the Enactus National event bringing together student, academic and business leaders from the affiliate universities to participate in the pitching of entrepreneurial projects focused on making an innovative and sustainable impact in their community. The winning team then proceeds to represent Kenya at the Enactus World Cup global event, competing against 37 Enactus affiliate countries. This year, the Enactus World Cup will take place in Utrecht, The Netherlands.
About Enactus Kenya
Enactus Kenya (Then SIFE Kenya) was launched in 2002 following an M.O.U between Enactus International (Then SIFE International) and Inter Region Economic Network Ltd (IREN). The organization operates in 34 colleges and universities, with more than 2500 students participating.
Enactus is an international organization that brings together students, academic and business leaders who are committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to shape a better, more sustainable world. Guided by faculty advisors and business experts, participating students form teams on their campuses to create and implement community projects that empower people in need.
The experience not only transforms lives, but it also helps students develop the skills and perspective necessary to become effective, values-driven leaders. Founded in 1975, today Enactus has more than 66,500 student participants on campuses in 37 countries globally.
Website: enactus.org/country/kenya/
About Enactus
At Enactus, we believe investing in students who take entrepreneurial action for others creates a better world for us all. Enactus develops college students into leaders who use business to solve community challenges, creating sustainable improvements in the lives of the people their projects serve, and in turn, the lives of the students themselves. Enactus is the world’s largest experiential learning platform dedicated to creating a better world while developing the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders to use innovation and business principles to do so. Enactus has more than 72,000 student participants on over 1,700 campuses in 37 countries. For more information,www.enactus.org.
