Deadline: 18 September 2018
Are you an African youth entrepreneur passionate about the continent with an innovative solution? If yes, then apply for the Open Innovation Challenge and Call for Youth Led Social Entrepreneurship Innovative Solutions Addressing Development Challenges Facing Youth in Africa.
The SDG Challenge within the Africa Youth Conference 2018, UN Women partners with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to conduct a challenge and award grant financing to help African youth entrepreneurs to develop and implement their innovative solutions that address SDG challenges in their communities, especially those targeted at bridging the gender gap in their countries.
This Challenge invites African youth entrepreneurs to step forward to help realise the Goals of Africa: They call on young people, especially women and girls, to present us with their innovations for SDG attainment in their communities and countries across Africa. Areas of particular relevance for this Challenge include youth access to sustainable livelihoods, youth engagement in governance / political participation, leadership and decision making, as well as youth action in preventing violence and other harmful practices against young women and girls.
Theme
Focus on Youth – Especially Women and Girls: Africa Youth Conference 2018.
Benefits
- Winning entries will receive funding to develop, validate and scale innovative ideas. The grants will be awarded to entrepreneurs who would like to test their innovative solutions or grow existing ventures, as per the following categories:
- Idea Stage: 5,000 USD (seed grants)
- Growth Stage: 10,000 USD (scale grants)
- The innovators selected for the funds will be acknowledged and presented with awards during the Africa Youth Conference in October 2018. In selected cases, UNDP and Accenture will also provide business development support to winning innovators, including access to mentors and capacity building to implement their solutions. From the applications, UN Women, in collaboration with UNDP, will also identify additional youth entrepreneurs that have particularly innovative solutions to also invite them to the Africa Youth Conference, where their ventures will be profiled and exhibited. So, even if applicant do not make it for the grants, applicant could still secure theirself a trip to Kenya to exchange with other youth innovators on their solutions to support the attainment of the SDGs!
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants are eligible for the Challenge if applicant answer “yes” to all of the following questions:
- Are you African, aged between 15 and 35 years?
- Do you have an innovative, replicable, scalable idea that could transform your community, country or even Africa?
- Would you like to contribute towards the attainment of the SDGs and therein especially gender-related targets and indicators of SDG 1 (poverty), SDG 5 (gender equality and empowerment of women and girls), SDG 8 (decent employment) and SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure)?
- Do you have the passion to help Africa progress – but struggle to find the support you need to turn your idea into reality?
How to Apply
Applicants can submit their application via email at the address given on the website.
Eligible Countries: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Cote d’Ivorie, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
For more information, please visit Addressing Development Challenges Facing Youth in Africa.