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The First ORIGIN Youth Innovation Call

Call for Applications

Application deadline: 25th Aug 2021

Background

Africa has fastest growing youthful population that is increasingly educated, skilled and enterprising. We believe our youths are the main driver of entrepreneurship and innovation, a force to initiate and spearhead changes that help realize development and growth.  The hundreds of innovation hubs, accelerators, incubators and science parks that team  with brilliant young people designing solutions to everyday problems and building their innovative business ventures fortify this belief.

Are you one of the smart, entrepreneurial, visionary, passionate, motivated and talented young people that wish to create impact on growth and development of your community? If this describes you, this Origin Youth Innovation Call offers a golden opportunity for you to design and pioneer solution(s) to the challenges faced by start-ups, small and medium enterprises, public institutions (e.g. education and health) and communities in your country.

About Youth Innovation Call

This Youth Innovation Challenge Call offers youths the opportunity to identify challenges that firms, public entities and/or communities face, and to co-learn and co-create with these partners to design a solution that could help overcome the challenge. The challenge for firms may be in areas such as: a) product design, development and production; b) process of manufacturing, packaging or storage and c) meeting regulatory requirements such as safety, standards and environmental issues, among others. Social challenges may include those faced by communities and households (e.g. energy, water, transport), schools, hospitals and farmers, among others.

Why You Should Be Involved:

Origin and its partners will support you to design a solution to a challenge that you passionately like to solve. You will get the opportunity to work and learn from some of the smartest and brightest minds in Africa and beyond, providing you with valuable mentorship and guidance to turn your proposed solution into a viable one.

On top of that, Origin and its partners will provide both financial and technical support to implement the solution. Up to $5,000 is being made available for teams that work with entities to identify inspirational challenges and design useful solution that are implementable.  Shortlisted teams will also be invited to showcase their innovations at UNECA and Origin events and the Youth Design and Innovation Bootcamp. Up to 15 teams will be mentored over a period of two months.

Eligibility criteria

All African youths under the age of 34 at the time of application may submit ONE proposed solution to a challenge that they wish to solve. All are encouraged to apply, especially women and youths. Beyond these generalities, the following criteria need to be met:

1.      The innovative solution must target a specific challenge that an identifiable entity (e.g. a firm, public institution, community) in your country is facing now, or an emerging challenge that threatens to derail progress of development (e.g. in terms of health, education, technology) soon.
2.      For this call, the entity facing the challenge is actively seeking to solve it now and/or is willing to support the implementation of a viable solution.
3.      You must talk to the entity facing the challenge first and obtain its support to co-learn, co-innovate and co-create in designing the solution. A letter of support for the entity facing the challenge will be an advantage.

Click Here to Access the Online Application in Google Form

For Further information Please Contact:

  1. Asfaw Yitna – yitna@un.org
  2. Gedion Workneh – workneh@un.org