• Enactus society is all about social entrepreneurship
  • It focuses on three streams: fundraising, social enterprise and consultancy
  • Members can support the local community with a variety of projects
  • Plenty of events planned throughout the year for members

For freshers looking to support the local community while developing an entrepreneurial spirit the Warwick Enactus Society has a lot to offer.

Enactus is based upon social entrepreneurship and the group has three main streams: fundraising, social enterprise and consultancy.

Related link: Enactus website

Indy Sira is the new Enactus President and believes the society, just like the community it serves, is open to people with a wide mix of backgrounds and ideas.

“I believe in the impact of our project," said Indy. "I have worked with Coventry City Council, helped run workshops working with refugees which will help in creating opportunities within seven or eight companies. It offers basic IT skills, personal development skills and work experience after workshops.

“The personal development sessions are individually tailored. We created work experience placements through Intercontinental Hotel Group, at Coventry Holiday Inn – they would not have received such support without the scheme."

Indy explains how the social enterprise stream has five on-going projects at the moment.

Enactus team members photo
Community spirit: Enactus team members posing ahead of the 2016 Enactus UK national competition

One of which is the refugee gateway initiative Indy has worked on for more than a year – the initiative has led to an employability programme being launched in Coventry for asylum seekers and refugees.

“I’ve always wanted to make a difference to the community and if you are into promoting entrepreneurship and enterprise Enactus gives you a platform to think independent," said Indy. "You have a lot of space to think freely, think innovatively on how to solve an issue.”

In terms of the other two streams Indy explains the fundraising element is solely for helping the social enterprises run, so the group hold various events and ventures.

Under the consultancy element the Enactus society currently works with 19 businesses locally, nationally and internationally.

“An example of this is one of our local projects which delivered a recommendation on how to financially structure the business to increase revenue and profit," said Indy.

“Ultimately it is all about impact – we want to do something that is going to have an impact on the individual and the community as a whole. We currently have 12 projects we are looking to effectively measure the impact of.”

The society also has lots of events planned throughout the year, with a launch event likely to feature Enactus alumni and business advisors from a number of big companies to help showcase what the society.

Indy said: “If you have an interest or want to learn about social entrepreneurship join Enactus. Many people ask ‘what is a social enterprise?’ and when they find out they become more interested.

“So if you want to work with a diverse team and work on your personal development come and say hello to the team at the fair.”

Visit the Enactus website here for more information. The Enactus Society is also on Twitter and on Instagram using their @enactuswarwick handle.