In line with its motto “empowering young people”, the Wilo-Foundation is a committed supporter of Enactus, the world’s largest learning platform for social entrepreneurship. Enactus is active in 37 countries worldwide. Its membership of almost 72,000 students makes it one of the largest global student organisations.

In national competitions, which take place annually, and during the international World Cup (October), the Enactus student teams develop business projects that focus on the global 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN and present these projects to a jury consisting of experts and representatives of companies and foundations. The winning teams receive financial prizes, advice and mentoring support from committed volunteers of the corporate sponsors.

The new thematic contest “Action with Africa“ (kick-off event in January 2022, video), which takes place as part of the Enactus World Cup for the first time in 2022, gives student teams and opportunity to work on entrepreneurial project ideas that are developed in collaboration with civil society on the African continent and are aimed at creating jobs and help to overcome the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis and promote sustainability in society. The main sponsor of the contest is the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). In addition, various private sponsors and companies are providing financial support, including the Wilo-Foundation and the Wilo Group, the latter sponsoring an award for water-related projects.

Click here to watch the trailer of the contest

The global 1 Race 4 Oceans competition, a thematic event that is part of the Enactus World Cup, was initiated in 2020. Its aim is to encourage and support Enactus students worldwide in developing and implementing useful approaches to address the crisis of the oceans and promote the responsible use of water as a resource, with a key focus on the SDG “Life below water”. The Wilo-Foundation provided funding for the event in 2020 and 2021. The company Wilo also provided support: by sponsoring the Wilo Excellence Awards in 2021 and through mentoring activities for Enactus teams in the project development stages.

Click here to watch the video

The Wilo-Foundation, as part of its country partnerships, has been sponsoring the National Cup in Germany annually since 2020 and provided financial support for the National Cup in India in 2020 and 2021.

Click here to watch the video

The central mission of the NGO Enactus is to bring together entrepreneurship and social engagement. By getting involved in Enactus initiatives, students get an opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge in practical settings and gather first experience in tackling problems and developing solutions. Sustainability for people in difficult situations in life and for the environment and nature are the basis for all innovative ideas. Assuming responsibility for society, gathering practical experience and at the same time help to build a better world, step by step: this, in essence, is what project work at Enactus is all about.

Enactus enables students to connect with fellow students at the national and international level and exchange views and experiences with them on projects, business start-ups, further training and professional development. Individual events enable students to establish first contacts with the business world. Enactus Global is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri (United States). In addition, there are country organisations responsible for organising the National Cups, including Enactus Germany e.V. in Cologne, which developed the “Action with Africa” format.