Youth entrepreneurs are invited to apply for the SDG challenge grant financing. The challenge will be part of UN Africa Youth Conference 2018.
Africa Youth Conference 2018 will be happening in Nairobi from October 23rd to 25th. It is organized by UN Women and partners, like UNDP. The purpose of the Conference is to support youth entrepreneurship and facilitate knowledge management and exchange.
The theme of this year’s conference is: “Unleashing the Potential of Youth in Africa – Prioritizing Investment in Youth Development in the Post-2015 Agenda.”
Successful applicants will get to showcase their work, share ideas and experiences at Africa Youth Conference 2018. Also on the table will be grant financing for the most innovative ideas or projects.
Preference is given to ideas that address challenges under SDG 1 (poverty), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 8 (employment) and SDG 9 (industry, infrastructure). The solutions should also be replicable and scalable.
The grant will be awarded at the Africa Youth Conference 2018. It follows the open innovation challenge of YAS! Youth for Africa and SDGs, which is an initiative by UNDP and Accenture. Idea stage solutions will receive a seed grant of sh.500,000 ($5,000). Those looking to scale will receive a growth grant of sh.1 million ($10,000).
Applicants not selected for the grant will still get an opportunity to exhibit their work at the Conference. The SDG challenge is open to Africans between the ages of 15 and 35.
Apply by filling and submitting this form to procurement.et@undp.org or susan.kariuki@unwomen.org. You are encouraged to make a multimedia submission as well. It could be a phone video narrating your work or high resolution photos of the same.
Deadline for application is 18th September, 2018. Good luck!