Young entrepreneurs are invited to apply for the first edition of the African Youth Adaptation Solutions (YouthAdapt) Challenge. The challenge is a product of a partnership between the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) and the African Development Bank.
The challenge is opened to young entrepreneurs, innovators between the ages of 18 and 35 from micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and other youth-led and youth-founded enterprises in Africa. They will be charged to execute solutions for building resilience and adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change.
The winners of the YouthAdapt Challenge will receive awarded business grants of up to $100,000 each and the opportunity to participate in a 12-month business accelerator program to help them scale up their businesses, deepen their impact and create decent jobs. In addition, the winning youth-led enterprises will be provided with mentorship and support to expand partnerships, knowledge sharing, and learning through a network of young entrepreneurs in climate adaptation.
Announcing the YouthAdapt Challenge to a group of global leaders at the High-Level Dialogue: The Adaptation Acceleration Imperative for COP26 held in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on Monday 6th September 2021, Patrick Verkooijen, CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation said: “Our vision is to empower one million young people in Africa with the financing and skills they need to pursue jobs and careers in climate adaptation. With this new challenge, we aim to unlock the business opportunities in adaptation action by innovative youth-owned enterprises and prepare a new generation of African youth for the transition towards green and climate-resilient development.”
Akinwumi Adesina, African Development Bank’s President while affirming the Bank’s commitment to invest in the youth said, “The YouthAdapt Challenge will unleash the entrepreneurial drive and capacities of African youth to grow their businesses, address the continent’s pressing climate challenge, and create decent jobs, building a more climate-resilient Africa.”
Twenty youth-led enterprises will be shortlisted at the end of the application window on 6th October 2021 and invited to submit videos for a jury panel review ahead of the finals and an award ceremony at COP26 in Glasgow on November 8, 2021. At this event, ten winners will be selected, 50% of which will be women-led enterprises.
Interested individuals can click here to enter for the challenge.
