Deadline: 22-Jan-23
South African BRICS Youth Association is inviting applications for the Brics Youth Innovation Summit 2023 to create a BRICS-orientated space that will empower and support young entrepreneurs and innovators already undertaking projects with a prosocial impact in the real world.
The summit serves as a meeting point between promising young entrepreneurs and business leaders, investors, partners and experts from across BRICS and the Global South.
Objectives of the Summit
- Create an international platform for young entrepreneurs from BRICS and the global South to present and showcase their ongoing projects.
- Foster peer-to-peer networks between young entrepreneurs working on innovative projects in similar or interlinked sectors.
- Educate young entrepreneurs on the opportunities presented by the BRICS and other South-South/multilateral platforms.
- Connect young entrepreneurs with mentorship from experts and industry leaders to enhance their work.
- Provide a platform for investors and businesses from BRICS and the global South to partner with young entrepreneurs and invest in promising innovations.
Thematcial Area
- Theme: Linking Investment to Youth-Driven Innovation
Sub-Themes for Innovation Projects
- Young innovators with projects in any of the following sub-theme categories will be eligible to apply to become delegates to the 2023 BRICS Youth Innovation Summit based on the nature of their projects:
- Youth Volunteerism – Projects in the non-profit sector that are contributing to increased voluntary citizen participation in communal, cultural or social development in the global South.
- Green Energy – Projects that are contributing to accelerating a just transition to a greener and more environmentally friendly economy.
- Agribusiness – Projects that are enhancing the capacity of global South nations to achieve and maintain sustainable food security.
- Digitalisation – Projects that are contributing to mainstreaming digitalisation of services in a global South context.
- Manufacturing – Projects that are contributing to industrialisation and value-added production in the global South nations.
- Skill development & EdTech – Projects that are contributing to closing the education gap and enhancing the quality of education at primary, secondary or tertiary levels in the global South.
- Financial conditions for participation:
- SABYA will provide accommodation and meals during the period of the BRICS Youth Innovation Summit for all participants.
- Participants or sending organizations are responsible for their travel costs to Pretoria, South Africa and back.
- SABYA will provide visa application support and assistance with issuing a permission to enter South Africa for international participants who are required to acquire a visa.
- The event will be organized in compliance with South African health and COVID-19 Regulations.
Summit Outcomes
- The outcomes of the Summit both during and after the Summit will be as follows:
- Networking: During the Summit delegates will have the opportunity to Network with their peers and experts.
- After the Summit delegates will be added to the SABYA Young Entrepreneurs Network database to stay in touch, share updates on their projects and receive notice of opportunities.
- Mentorship: During the Summit delegates will present their projects to a panel of industry experts from different BRICS countries that will provide written/verbal feedback to share insights with emerging entrepreneurs.
- After the Summit delegates will be able to continuing reaching out to mentors via the SABYA Young Entrepreneurs Network.
- Investments & partnerships: During the Summit businesses and investors from different BRICS countries will be invited to listen in on the presentations made by the young entrepreneurs, to identify potential projects and businesses they might want to partner with or support.
- After the Summit the profiles of delegates and their projects will be shared with the network of businesses and investors who have expressed interest and SABYA will facilitate further correspondence between relevant parties.
- Awards:
- During the Summit a selected group of adjudicators will also be assessing the project presentations being made to select the best project from each of the sub-theme categories.
- After the Summit the top 6 entrepreneurs and innovators will be invited and supported by SABYA and its partners to participate in other international entrepreneurship and business platform and programmes e.g., Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2023/24.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Summit will be aimed at young entrepreneurs and innovators between the ages of 18-35 from BRICS and global South countries who are already running projects in one of the sub-theme areas.
- Overall, the Summit will gather up to 42 young entrepreneurs and innovators in Pretoria to present their projects. With 50-150 audience participants.
For more information, visit BRICS.