Enactus partners on global pandemic relief effort

Springfield-based Enactus is taking part in a worldwide effort to assist areas hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The international academic and entrepreneurial nonprofit is partnering with global charitable organization Standard Chartered Foundation to promote greater economic inclusion for disadvantaged young people, including those impacted by the pandemic, according to a news release.

Tona Rowett, vice president of worldwide marketing communications for Enactus, said Standard Chartered awarded an undisclosed amount of funding to the Springfield organization to provide entrepreneurship and employability services. The program is designed to work with up to 38,000 students at Enactus operations in France, Ghana, Ireland, Poland, South Africa, South Korea and Zimbabwe.

“With gratitude to the Standard Chartered Foundation, we are proud to contribute to expanded economic inclusion through this program while engaging next-generation leaders in some of the toughest challenges facing communities,” Enactus President and CEO Rachael Jarosh said in the release. “Preparing young people for meaningful roles in the economic well-being of communities is a part of our commitment to help communities revive and thrive post-pandemic.”

Enactus is building on a year in which officials say 500,000 students engaged with its programming, according to past reporting. Students in Enactus programming work to solve social issues by engaging entrepreneurs or businesses in their markets.

Enactus also is in the midst of a search for Jarosh's successor. She plans to exit in June after leading the organization since 2016. Enactus hired Chicago-based executive search firm Spencer Stuart for the process, Springfield Business Journal previously reported.