On Friday, 1st of July 2022.  The Enactus, University Of Calabar (UNICAL) Chapter. Held its On-Campus Competition, at the Co-Operative Society Center Unical. The event kicked off with a welcome address by the Chapter Faculty Advisor, Mrs Ugochi Valerie Esame.  

Enactus is the world’s largest experiential learning platform dedicated to creating a better world while developing the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders and social innovators. Guided by educators and supported by business leaders, teams of students conduct needs assessments in their community, identify potential solutions to complex issues and implement community impact projects. 

In 2021, Enactus University of Calabar emerged as one of the top 3 schools out of 10, at the ACT (Aspire Coronation Trust) Foundation Leadership Challenge on The 4th Industrial Revolution. They also emerged as semi-finalists at the 2021 Enactus National Competition, and top 3 at the Student Venture Prize in the same year. Enactus aims at creating a better world while developing the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders and social innovators. Her objective is to empower young people to transform opportunities into real, sustainable progress for themselves and their communities.

The Competition was Judged by, Miss. Jane Odey, Mr. Patrick Ndifon and Mr. Christopher Ekem. 

Jane Odey is a graduate of Radiography and Radiological Science at the University of Calabar. She is a lover of nature, a tech enthusiast and a techpreneur. In 2017, she co-founded VictualMart LTD and  ScephTech. ScephTech’s pilot program “kids can code” is an educational program that seeks to educate kids that coding can be fun and equally educative. So far, she has taught over 500 children how to create Mobile apps, stories, games and so on. Jane serves as the Master Educator of ScephTech. She is also involved in other local and international projects, ranging from being a Ford Community Impact Fellow Class of 2020, exhibition assistant to the British Council on their study at the UK Fair, Technovation student ambassador to Nigeria, and Technovation social media influencer. In 2021 she won the Nigeria Student Venture Prize 2021. 

Patrick M. Ndifon Jr. holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Calabar (Nigeria), and an Executive Masters in Business Administration from Quantic School of Business and Technology (US). He is a product manager, tech entrepreneur, startup & MSME coach with years of experience helping MSMEs, Startups and Nonprofits build innovative products, sustainable business models, and integrate technology in their operations. He is currently championing Cross River’s tech and entrepreneurial ecosystem growth at PSIFON Org. and Cally Valley. PSIFON Org. is a non profit organization that cultivates, shapes and grows entrepreneurial ecosystems within local communities in order to generate and distribute wealth. To date, PSIFON Org. has impacted over 3000 persons with digital and entrepreneurial knowledge and skills.

Chris Ekem is a native of Obudu, a graduate of the Prestigious Hope Waddell Training Institution, and a graduate of the University of Calabar.. He is an Enactus Alumni, who once served as his team’s secretary during his days as a team member. Chris’s team made it to the Enactus National Competition Semi-finals in 2017. He is an entrepreneur, currently an event manager and a host. He is fondly called Mc Chris.

As  the On-Campus event progressed, we witnessed three competing teams deliver pitch presentations of their solutions to specific environmental problems they had chosen. The teams were: Team Biopack, Agropro-X and Team E-blood Bank.

The competition started with Team Biopack making a presentation of their solution which tackled the problem of plastic pollution which affects human health. Through their research and experiments, they developed a solution using sugarcane plants. From sugarcane they were able to extract enough ethanol that birthed an alternative to toxic plastics. Other by-products of their solution include BioPellets – designed to serve the sachet and bottled water companies; the BioUtensils – crafted to replace fossil fuel utensils of all sorts; and Bagasse Paper for writing. Team BioPack main aim is to become the standard for plastic packaging in all of Nigeria.

The second team was Team E-blood Bank. They observed that a lot of patients were in need of blood transfusion on a daily basis. Such patients include sickle cell patients, patients on dialysis, cancer patients, accident victims and people who undergo surgery.  The E-blood Bank project was created to solve the problem of blood scarcity by providing hospitals with willing blood donors using an app. The application gives the donors who are on the app a free health insurance alongside two of the donor’s family members. Donors also have a percentage profit from the revenue earned from the hospitals.

The final team to pitch their project was Team Agropro-X, an agro solution business that produces organic fertilizers from organic waste and also connects farmers to the ready market through an app. They hope to employ thousands of individuals not just as refuse collectors, processors and direct staff of the company but also via our super app feature that enables users above 18 years earn by signing up on the app as delivery agents. The feature connects users that want  their orders delivered to an available delivery agent, this way users can also track their deliveries till it is successfully delivered. This feature gives this project the possibility of creating employment opportunities for thousands of individuals in and across Cross Rivers state.

At the end of the day, Team Agropro-X emerged winners of ENACTUS On-Campus Challenge, with Team E-blood Bank coming second place and Team Biopack came third.

It was indeed a beautiful and educational event.