Apply for Youth for Africa and SDGs Ecosytem Challenge 2018 ($10,000 in Grant)

Applications for YAS! (Youth for Africa and SDGs) Ecosystem is now open for its 2018 Challenge.

YAS! Ecosystem was launched at the Responsible Business Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa sometime in June 2018.

The platform is an online portal developed by UNDP in partnership with Accenture South Africa. It aims to address the four main pillars of the entrepreneurship ecosystem: Information, Mentorship, Funding, and Network.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is reaching out for Youth for Africa and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Ecosystem Challenge solutions facing good numbers of youth in Africa.

The main purpose of Ecosystem Challenge is to seed youth entrepreneurship focused activities in the locality that has a weak or nascent youth entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Benefit

• A grant funding of $10,000

Entrepreneurship boot camps

• Local networking event addressing specific themes and topics,
• Financial modeling
• Branding and Marketing
• Business speed dating
• A panel discussion, example barriers in establishing, sustaining and growing business
• Business plan competitions
• Mentoring sections
• Different types of workshops: e.g. business planning, idea to market, insight into buyer, access to finance, open innovation, social entrepreneurship, doing business in Africa.

Eligibility

• Have at least two years of relevant experience in entrepreneurship and business development
• Have an innovative, replicable, scalable, idea that could transform your community, country or even Africa
• Have an interest in making a contribution towards SDGs and therein especially gender-related target and indicator of SDG 1 (poverty), SDG 5 (gender equality and empowerment of women and girls), SDG 8 (decent employment) and SDG 9(industrial innovation and infrastructure)
• Having the passion to assist Africans progress- but struggling with the support you need to turn your idea into reality

Criteria

• The criteria for the selection of winning proposal will focus on the explanation of the challenge and proposed a solution to it
• Factors considered in the review are whether the proposed solution:
• Is inclusive and has great potential for impact (e.g. reduces poverty for the most disadvantaged especially women and girls)
• Is sustainable (e.g. provides a long-term solutions gender balance and sensitive, is environmental and financially sustainable, climate-smart etc.)
• Is transformative, innovative and can be scaled up easily
• Is replicable in other environment and can be replicated across more African countries than that of the applicant
• Is broadly accepted and widely accessible to all targeted beneficiaries and/or potential users especially women and girls
• Is available for sharing
• Can create a greater catalytic impact by reaching out to a larger number of youth entrepreneurs(especially women entrepreneurs) by financing local ecosystem building activities.
• Build on technologies or methodologies that are adaptable to various context for the benefit of all population including women and girls

How to Apply

Fill and submit the application form available via YAS! Portal. Application deadline is Saturday, October 13, 2018