Programme empowers female entrepreneurs

The YouthADAPT Solutions Challenge 2023 is set to award young female climate innovators doing business in Africa a grant of $100 000 (about K100 million) at the CoP28 event in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in December 2023.

The YouthADAPT Solutions Challenge 2023, now in its third cohort, seeks to empower youths who are ready to tackle climate adaptation with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies.

In an interview on Sunday, Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme (AAAP) lead coordinator Edith Ofwona Adera said the YouthADAPT is an integral part of the AAAP and a groundbreaking initiative from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA).

She said: “With a substantial budget of $25 billion, AAAP is poised to reshape climate adaptation in Africa and drive innovative solutions across the continent. Additionally, an extra $12.5 billion will be leveraged to further accelerate climate change adaptation through AfDB’s portfolio.

“To date, 33 enterprises across 23 African countries have received support through the previous two cohorts of YouthADAPT. These enterprises have recorded remarkable achievements, including raising an additional $316 874 in financing and the creation of 529 direct jobs and about 7 742 indirect jobs.”

To win the grant, innovators are supposed to apply and this year, the challenge is supported by The Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF), hosted by the bank.

ACCF senior climate finance officer Rita Effah said the challenge is designed to empower youths for entrepreneurship, job creation and climate adaptation.

“The programme offers an exceptional platform for young female entrepreneurs to secure funding and mentorship for their innovative climate adaptation solutions,” she said.

Africa Adaptation Acceleration Programme adaptation specialist Aliou Diouf said the programme seeks to scale up climate adaptation in Africa through a straightforward eligibility criterion that includes a profitable growth-stage enterprise operating for at least two years.

Last year two Malawian youth, Joyce Kamwagha Sikwese, 28, of Green Impact Technologies and Ulaya Mwale of Mpatsa Engineering Company Limited, formerly of Sustainable Water Irrigation and Farming Technologies were among the 20 people that won the 2022 YouthADAPT competition.