UPR Mayagüez team to represent Puerto Rico in Enactus World Cup
A team of students from the University of Puerto Rico’s Mayagüez campus won the Enactus Puerto Rico competition and will move on to represent the island in the global event.
The team presented its Limitless project, which provides employment opportunities to people with functional diversity, and Reco (Repurposed coffee), a social enterprise that uses flour waste of coffee as a base for commercial products.
The runner-up team was the Ana G. Méndez University in Gurabo with its social company NutriBee-Eco, which develops honey-based products and works on educational programs for the protection and development of hives.
More than 26 universities and hundreds of students gathered at the competition to celebrate a year of great efforts, interact with their mentors, and compete before a jury of more than 70 executives and organization leaders.
Puerto Rico will host the 2022 Enactus World Cup for the first time, Oct. 30-Nov. 2. More than 72,000 students from 1,800 universities, from 35 countries, compete for the World Championship in the development of solutions and social enterprises within the framework of the 17 goals of the United Nations Organization.
The event will pump some $3 million into the island’s economy, organizers said.
“Holding the World Cup in Puerto Rico is a unique opportunity for our business community, educational network and the country’s economy, which is why we are working tirelessly to make this edition memorable, one that showcases the wealth of talent that we have and that it also continues to consolidate the leadership of Enactus on the island,” said Rosa Hernández, president of Enactus Puerto Rico.
In anticipation to the selection of this year’s winner, five finalists defended their 27 projects that competed in the preliminary round.
Ford, Oriental, Walgreens and Puerto Rico Supplies awarded special recognitions to distinguished alumni and students such as Social Enterprise in Development, Global Sustainability Goals Challenges and Faculty of the Year Awards.
“The enthusiasm and motivation to come together at the 2022 National Competition, after two years of hybrid events due to COVID-19, was contagious. We affirm the potential of these projects and the effectiveness of the new social business methodology created by Enactus,” said Rody Rivera Rojas, director of Enactus Puerto Rico.
