Deadline: 29-Jun-23

Applications are now available for African Climate Innovation Challenge to empower young Africans to create impact in their local communities by solving sustainability challenges through entrepreneurship and innovation.

The African Climate Innovation Challenge (ACIC) which is jointly developed and implemented by 3 E’s 4 Africa, Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO) and StartUp Lounge Africa is a project which intends to focus on the innovative minds and projects of young Africans and encourage and empower them to create a local impact in their communities. It is an idea contest which challenges young Africans to come up with innovative, green ideas and helps them to develop them into real solutions.  Young Africans apply with ideas for solving environmental problems with an entrepreneurial mindset.

The best 10 concepts are selected as the ACIC Cohort. They will go through an online curriculum, consisting of training and digital workshops, as well as P2P sessions between mentors and participants. This gives teams the opportunity to work on and develop their ideas further. Topics covered include environmental protection, climate change, social engagement, digital literacy, project management and business creation/management.

The top 5 projects will be invited to the African Climate Week in Nairobi as finalists where the pitch event will take place. After the pitch event, the jury will select the 3 winners. Each winner will receive a considerable prize money dedicated to support them in the direct implementation of their idea in the community.

Objectives

• Empower youth and local communities in Africa by providing them not only with entrepreneurship skills, but also with the tools and knowledge they need to create local impact.
• Help African communities build resilience and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change locally.
• Addressing and solving sustainability-related challenges through entrepreneurship and innovation in Africa.

Benefits

• Up to USD15,000 in prize money for the three winning teams to directly implement their innovative start-up ideas in their communities.
• Tailor made curriculum as well as dedicated Peer-to-peer mentorship for all participants to further develop their start-up ideas.
• 3 months incubation for all 10 selected teams to move past the ideation stage and turn their ideas into reality.
• Pitch your project during the African Climate Summit co-hosted by the Republic of Kenya and the African Union Commission (AUC) in Nairobi.

Eligibility Criteria

• Before applying, make sure your team and yourself are willing and able to commit to the program of the ACIC
• You should be a team of 2 – 6 people. Applications from teams with less than 2 people and more than 6 people will not be considered
• Although not required, they specifically want to encourage female-led teams and teams with 40% – 50% female participants
• All the members of your team must be of African descent and based in Africa
• Existing and officially registered start-ups will not be considered
• The idea you are applying with must be centered around climate change mitigation and/or climate change adaptation
• All members of your team must be between 18 and 35 years old
• All members of the team must have a good mastery of the English language.

For more information, visit 3 E’s 4 Africa (3E4A).