Within the Africa Youth Conference 2018, that will take place in October 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya, UN Women partnered with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to conduct a challenge and award grant financing to help African youth entrepreneurs  to develop and implement their innovative solutions that address SDG challenges  in their communities, especially those targeted at bridging the gender gap in their countries.

This Challenge invites African youth entrepreneurs to step forward to help realise the Goals of Africa: it calls on young people, especially women and girls, to present their innovations for SDG attainment in their communities and countries across Africa. Areas of particular relevance for this Challenge include youth access to sustainable livelihoods, youth engagement in governance / political participation, leadership and decision making, as well as youth action in preventing violence and other harmful practices against young women and girls.

Winning entries will receive funding to develop, validate and scale innovative ideas. The grants will be awarded to entrepreneurs who would like to test their innovative solutions or grow existing ventures, as per the following categories:

Idea Stage: 5,000 USD (seed grants)

Growth Stage: 10,000 USD (scale grants)

Applications deadline: September 18, 2018

More information: UN Women and UNDP YAS Call TORs and Application Form