Enactus World Cup came to an exciting close on Friday, October 4 in Astana, Kazakhstan. Team Canada, from Saint Mary’s University, had a strong finish in the main competition with a Top 16 finish.
Enactus Saint Mary’s social enterprise, Square Roots, competed against 29 National Champion teams from around the world. Square Roots tackles the twin issues of food waste and food insecurity by rescuing “imperfect” produce that would otherwise be discarded, empowering local entrepreneurs to offer it at affordable prices in their communities. The team also presented Plastarch as part of their main competition presentation and the new Early Stage Competition. Plastarch is a pioneering enterprise developing a sustainable bioplastic alternative for take-out food packaging and utensils crafted from an unlikely source – discarded potatoes.
“The 2024 Enactus World Cup was an amazing experience for our team. Presenting our work on the global stage and gathering feedback from such diverse perspectives is something we really value. We are so grateful for all of the support we received to get to this point and are so proud of every member of our team for their dedication and for the work they have put in to reach this level. ” — Co-Presidents of Enactus Saint Mary’s, Courtney Dingle and Gabe Martin.
The World Cup Final was a close match between four teams – Tunisia, Morocco, Germany, and Korea. Ultimately, the team from Tunis Business School were chosen as the 2024 World Cup Champions with their social enterprise BOVITA. Congratulations! You can view more World Cup highlights on the Enactus YouTube channel.
Enactus World Cup 2025 will be held in Bangkok, Thailand and commemorates 50 years of empowering social entrepreneurship.
Canada places Second in Bentley Systems iTwin4Good Competition
Canada also had an impressive finish in the Bentley Systems iTwin4Good competition. The project, Accesstructure, finished in second place and the team was awarded $2,000 USD for their work using the Bentley Systems iTwin platform to develop automated accessibility audits of campus facilities and identifying compliance issues across legislation and standards. Accesstructure is a collaboration between students from Saint Mary’s University and Dalhousie University.
“The iTwin4Good challenge provided our team a platform to present innovative solutions that address social and environmental issues through technology. This challenge reinforced the importance of creating lasting impact and reminded us that, regardless of the differences in our cultures or backgrounds, we all share a common goal: to build a better, more inclusive future. The connections we made, and the ideas exchanged throughout the competition will continue to inspire us as we work towards making a meaningful difference in our communities.” Team Accesstructure – Ashish Ganapathy, Aneesa Hussain, and Hannah Meagher.
Our Partners Support the Enactus Experience
A special thanks goes out to the Jeanne Sauvé Foundation and John Dobson Foundation for their generous financial support to make the 2024 Enactus World Cup a success and for funding the Canadian team and staff’s travel. Our donors make this experience possible for our teams and we are beyond grateful for their support throughout the year on projects, recognition, competitions, and more.
“We are so proud of the hard work and everything that the teams have accomplished this year. Square Roots, Plastarch, and Accesstructure are leading examples of Enactus project success, the impact students can have on the UN SDG goals, and how a social enterprise can continue to grow, evolve, and support sustainability in the community and beyond,” said Catherine Fowler, President and CEO of Enactus Canada.
Are you interested in learning more about Enactus Canada? Visit our website for information about projects, partnership opportunities, and teams, and more.