TORONTO, October 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

In a close competition, Team Canada has emerged as the winner of the 2016 Enactus World Cup.

The Enactus World Cup is the world's largest competition of business innovation and entrepreneurial action for social impact. This year, the Cup featured teams from 33 countries, qualified from 1,700 campuses and 69,000 student participants.

"Enactus enables entrepreneurial students around the world to make a massive impact in their communities, using their ideas to deliver sustainable change," says Lord Dr Michael Hastings of Scarisbrick CBE, Global Head of Citizenship, KPMG International. "We are proud to have been supporting the Enactus World Cup over two decades by providing KPMG executives to mentor and empower the next generation of leaders. The quality of the teams this year has been truly exceptional. A special congratulation to the Enactus World Cup Champion, Team Canada from Memorial University of Newfoundland."

The final four round of competition was comprised of teams from Nigeria, India, Germany and Canada, with India taking second place in the competition.

The students from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies in India are addressing poor sanitation facilities in urban slum areas in Delhi by educating residents on health issues while investing in community toilet complexes. The team from RWTH Aachen in Germany presented a number of projects, including how they are addressing the lack of protein-rich nourishment in rural areas of Africa by setting up fish farms while creating a new business opportunity for residents. Nigeria was represented by Kaduna Polytechnic, who shared how their students are helping Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) by providing educational opportunities to children while economically empowering their parents.

The students from the top team, Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada, passionately discussed how they are addressing food insecurity in Canada's north, by employing at-risk youth to build hydroponic systems, which are then used to grow fresh produce. In the final minutes of the competition the team also talked about their work with Project Bottlepreneur, which helps bottle collectors market themselves as an alternative curbside recycling service, and The Prince's Operation Entrepreneur, which provides entrepreneurial opportunities for Canadian Forces Members.

"Enactus World Cup 2016 has been an incredible event to host and welcome the world to Canada," says Nicole Almond, President, Enactus Canada, "Our National Champion team from Memorial University of Newfoundland continues to do excellent work across the country and particularly in Canada's north. In a world competition like this, students collaborate on best practices and create even greater impact; this is how we all win."

During the final awards ceremony, a video message from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was shared with the audience, where he congratulated Enactus and commended the students on their dedication to positive change and having the imagination and drive to address some of the toughest issues of our time.

Enactus World Cup 2017 will take place in London, England from 26-28 September 2017. "The Enactus World Cup is the ultimate event for any business or brand hoping to engage tomorrow's socially responsible business leaders," says Andrew Bacon, Chief Executive Officer of Enactus UK, "Preparations are well underway for this innovative event to come to the Excel Centre in 2017."

Video highlights from Enactus World Cup 2016 can be viewed at http://www.enactus.org/worldcup. Enactus can be followed @enactus. To learn more, visit http://www.enactus.org/get-involved.

Enactus is an international organization dedicated to inspiring students to improve the world through entrepreneurial action. The Enactus experience transforms both the lives of the people the projects serve, and in turn, the lives of Enactus students as they develop into more effective, values-driven leaders. Founded in 1975, today Enactus has more than 69,000 student participants on over 1,700 campuses in 36 countries. For more information visit http://www.enactus.org.

Enactus World Headquarters, Contact: Paula Worthington, +1-403-585-2429, Paula.worthington@northstrategic.com

SOURCE Enactus