Makomborero Zimbabwe taught me to be a student who always seeks to expand his knowledge beyond academic studies, through which I developed a keenness to harness and hone a diverse range of skills in leadership, public speaking and entrepreneurship. Just over a year ago, I joined the Enactus Society at Edinburgh university, where I am currently studying Medicinal and Biological Chemistry. This was an opportunity for me to not only challenge myself to increase my business acumen, but to also engage in meaningful and life transforming projects.
Enactus hosts annual national competitions, and, for the first time, Edinburgh university came first in the UK this year! This enabled us to represent the UK at the Enactus World Cup in Silicon Valley. Our team managed to get through to the semi-finals and were ultimately ranked in the top 8 Enactus Teams around the world! In the past year, the Edinburgh University Enactus projects collectively have impacted nearly 4000 lives! We are all incredibly proud of this achievement and success, and have attained further motivation to expand our projects and impact more lives.
My involvement in Enactus has taught me a range of transferable skills in project management, social entrepreneurship, leading and working in teams which continue to complement my academic studies.
In Enactus Edinburgh we have 7 social enterprise businesses and I am Project Manager for one of our local businesses, the Edinburgh Candle Company. The Edinburgh Candle Company is a socially and environmentally conscious business that supports unemployed women and those facing language barriers to gain confidence, transferable skills, and a sense of community. Alongside making candles to earn an income, the women receive additional one-on-one employ-ability training tailored to match their specific needs, whether it is to transition into employment, learn new skills or start their own business ventures. We sell our candles on campus and through our website.