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Cologne students win global competition with project

Enactus project Save the Grain wins in Puerto Rico

Three celebratig team members.

Implementing global food security: The Cologne-based Enactus project Save the Grain has won the $15,000 first prize in the Race to Feed the Planet as part of the Enactus World Cup 2022. With their start-up idea, Save the Grain has developed a holistic concept to combat crop losses and hunger in sub-Saharan Africa. This goal is to be achieved, among other things, by implementing innovative devices such as a solar-based grain dryer that works without electricity.

Between sowing and harvesting, up to 50% of the harvest is lost in sub-Saharan Africa due to poor seeds, incorrect tilling of the fields and inadequate drying and storage facilities. To combat these immense problems and the resulting dependence on middlemen, the students of the Enactus group at the University of Cologne have developed several solutions. These include providing information on cultivation and tilling, implementing innovative equipment, and building cooperatives. The team has developed a low-cost, electricity-free solar dryer, which, in combination with innovative storage options, creates more flexibility in the timing of sales, security and independence for the farmers.

At the finals of the Race to Feed the Planet, Save the Grain convinced the jury with its idea and potential and won first place out of four finalists, out of originally 80 submitted entries. Save the Grain is currently working with partners in Togo and Guinea-Bissau.

As a student association, Enactus is committed to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. At the Enactus World Cup 2022, students, and company representatives from over 60 countries came together. As a student initiative, Enactus is active in 35 countries worldwide and, with almost 72,000 students, is the largest global student organisation in the field of social entrepreneurship. In Cologne, the team currently consists of 40 members who are involved in four projects. For some time now, the Cologne Enactus group has also been working together with the Gateway Excellence Start-up Center at the University of Cologne.