Two student projects of the University of Cologne have won the Germany-wide "Enactus NationalCup 2020". The two student start-ups "Save the grain" and "Socialbnb" are supervised at GATEWAY Excellence Start-up Center and will now represent the German association and present their ideas on social entrepreneurship at the Enactus WorldCup 2020 in September.
The first winning start-up "Save the grain" has set itself the goal of installing 120 solar-powered grain dryers in Togo, sub-Saharan Africa, by 2023. With this, the team wants to create a practicable drying and storage facility for the harvest to enable small farmers to store their food reliably with the help of a cooperative warehouse. This should contribute to the development of food security for the Togolese population.
The second winning start-up "Socialbnb" follows the approach of an alternative bed & breakfast exchange. On the online platform, travellers can find and book free beds in the premises of globally active NGOs. The exchange is already active in 26 countries. Socialbnb is also supported by the start-up grant of the state of NRW.
As a student association, Enactus is committed to achieving the 17 sustainability goals of the United Nations (Sustainable Development Goals). Enactus is active in 37 countries worldwide and with almost 72,000 students it is one of the largest global student organisations. The two winning start-ups from the Germany-wide Ideas Contest belong to "Enactus der Universität zu Köln e.V.", which is based in the gateway of the University of Cologne, where they receive coaching in addition to the premises.
Commenting on the winning of the two Cologne projects in the 2020 National Cup, the Board of Enactus der Universität zu Köln e.V. said: "We are very much looking forward to representing the University of Cologne team of 83 members, Enactus Germany and our partners at the World Cup in September".
The NationalCup, which had been a popular event for companies, organisations, universities and Enactus students in previous years to exchange ideas, network and present the projects personally, this year for the first time took place exclusively in digital form. During the two-day online event, the projects could present themselves to the jury via video message. The visit to the World Cup in autumn will also take place purely online. The five projects that win the WorldCup can then present their project during a trip to New York.