Celebrating 15 Years of Change Drivers with Enactus

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The UKZN chapter of Enactus held a gala dinner recently to mark the organisation’s 15th anniversary.

For the past 15 years, the UKZN Enactus team has been bringing innovative ideas to life to help change lives.

Dr Rose Laka-Mathebula, Student Services Director, spoke at the gala dinner held at the COMSA Lounge, congratulated Enactus saying its members have shown commitment in being part of social change while balancing that with their studies. ‘The 15 years journey although has both the greatest achievements however, the downs were equally important because they offered time to reflect, learn and this has demonstrated excellent leadership qualities amongst the team members,’ said Laka-Mathebula Also attending the dinner were Mr Simon Mokoena, the UKZN Registrar; Ms Thuthu Mbhele, the Chief Financial Officer at UKZN; Mr Liso Soldati, the Regional Co-ordinator of Enactus South Africa and UKZN Acting Executive Director of Corporate Relations Ms Normah Zondo. 

UKZN Enactus has now set its sights on winning the national competition something which will place them at 4^th position on the world Enactus rankings according to Mr Muhle Ndwandwe, the organisation’s publicity and marketing officer. Ndwandwe said Enactus has offered him endless opportunities which included visiting cities such as Dubai, California, Los Angeles, San Jose (Silicon Valley) and New York.

For Miss Nomonde Mthembu, former publicity and marketing officer, her journey with Enactus has honed her leadership skills. ‘Through this journey my cognitive development grew rapidly. I have learnt the secrets of emotional intelligence, as a leader I do not take decisions based on emotions but I take decisions when I am on my sober senses,’ said Mthembu.

The gala dinner event also recognised Enactus members who have demonstrated absolute dedication and selfless leadership. The awards conferred on the day were: Best new project – awarded to Amanzi Social Enterprise; Best New comer awarded to Mpendulo Mbambo (programme director on the day); Most hours contributed in 2018 awarded to Skhumbuzo Ngwazi and Deputy President of the Year awarded to Samkelisiwe Mkhize. Lastly, Mr Muzomuhle Mhlongo, Co-Faculty Advisor of Enactus UKZN, said, ‘I believe that investing in students who take entrepreneurial action for others creates a better world for us all.’ He added, ‘Entrepreneurial action is a powerful force for good when utilised properly and is something we are all capable of. Enactus UKZN is aiming to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of our students so that together, we can enable real progress and empower our communities while developing the next generation of entrepreneurs and country leaders.’

Words: Nokubonga Nomasiko Jele 

Photograph: Sibusiso Hlongwa