Enactus to host social hackathon

Enactus Manchester, a student action society, will have 11 hours (9am-8pm) to plan, design, and create models of eight social ideas which will help work towards the United Nations sustainable goals.

The objective of the event is to “spread awareness on the importance of student involvement in social responsibility” as stated by the President of the Committee, Kenji Chai. The aim is to bring together new social enterprise ideas by young entrepreneurs in Manchester and allow Enactus to “gain traction as an environment for students to improve business skills,”  leading them to expand their own networks.

The workshop will take place on Saturday the 25th of November in the Bright Building, with Professor Jonatan Pinkse hosting an ideation seminar. Each group attending the session will be asked to prepare research briefs on challenging demographics that the population of Manchester faces, such as: homelessness, elderly in Rusholme, students facing crime in Fallowfield, and marginalised low-income women in Moss Side.

Following this, charity representatives will discuss their role in the community and will work with the entrepreneurs, giving feedback, and discussing how they’ll be able to collaborate with them in the future. Finally, each group would have to present their ideas with a short Q&A to follow.

The panel of judges will be made up of three Enactus representatives, several business advisers and a university specialist in social enterprise who will discuss whether the entrepreneurs have fit the criterion they are seeking.

The grand prize will include the opportunity to showcase the project idea under Enactus and will receive a fast-track in Accelerate M-E, the nation’s first student-run startup accelerator, with the winner receiving £1,500 towards investment, mentoring, and office space.

Events like this hosted by Enactus will allow businessmen and women in Manchester the opportunity to grow socially and economically, as well as giving them a chance to tackle the current issues Manchester face.