The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Sub-regional office for Southern Africa (SRO-SA) in partnership with the Fifth African Youth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit and AfriLabs held a side event on August 17th on the margins of the Fifth Africa Youth SDGs Summit that took place in Lusaka.
The objective of the side event was to present the six winners of the Africa Youth SDGs Innovation Award to a target audience of public and private stakeholders with an aim to share their experiences and innovation journeys with other young Africans and inspire African youth to embrace innovative and high-growth entrepreneurship that can impact on African societies and the achievement of the SDGs.
Ms. Bolaky Bineswaree, ECA Economic Affairs Officer indicated that the Africa Youth SDGs Innovation Contest was a planned deliverable of the United Nations Development Account (UNDA)13th tranche project titled “Innovative approaches for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to promote trade and inclusive industrialization in Southern Africa in the Post-COVID context”. She further indicated that the contest was a collaboration between ECA SRO-SA, Afrilabs and the organisers of the Summit and thanked the members of the jury for their dedication, including the Embassy of Finland in Zambia. The award was open to any individual of African nationality between the age of 18 to 35 years, who has designed an innovative product or process to resolve a specific development problem for society, and with a demonstrated impact on the achievement of the SDGs.
The awards to the six winners were presented by Ms. Isatou Gaye, Chief, Sub-Regional Initiatives Section on behalf of Ms. Eunice Kamwendo, Director, ECA-SRO-SA, who noted that Africa needs a new breed of African entrepreneurs to allow the continent to overcome its challenges through Science, Technology and Innovation (STI). She further added that, “the youth bulge in Africa provides an opportunity to harness demographic dividend and bolster the role of young people in leveraging STI to accelerate progress towards SDGs; to resolve energy issues with solar powered solutions; to enhance access to medical services through telemedicine and new devices; and to use new and sustainable materials to support expansion of markets as varied as construction, footwear, and personal hygiene”.
In her statement Ms. Nanko Madu, Director of Programmes, AfriLabs concurred that the top six winners of the African Youth SDGs Innovation Award represented the embodiment of innovation-driven solutions that can impact not only individual lives but entire communities, industries, and nations.
The three partners ECA, Afrilabs and the African Youth SDG Summit presented the winners of the African Youth SDGs Innovation to participants, media and partners, calling for a new era in Africa, driven by Science, Technology and Innovation as pathways towards enhanced structural transformation and realization of the SDGs.
The six young winners are:
Mr. Brett Eagle of Gdome Ltd, South Africa which has developed the world’s first range of universal, semi-rigid, underwater housings.
Mr. Jeffrey Appiagyei of SAYeTECH Ltd, based in Ghana, represented by Ms Gifty Ama Opoku. SAYeTECH locally manufactures smart agricultural machines to empower smallholder farmers and agribusinesses.
Mr. Oluwatomisin Kolawole, of Vinsighte Ltd, from Nigeria, represented by Mr. Ayokunle Adesanya;
Visis AI, addresses the persistent educational challenges faced by visually impaired individuals in Africa. By harnessing artificial intelligence, Visis empowers them to read printed books and educational materials independently, thus providing them access to quality education and increased job opportunities.
Mr Habtamu Abafoge of Simbona Ltd, from Ethiopia which is a medical device firm with a healthcare technology that includes an affordable infant radiant warmer for low-resource settings.
Mr Saif Eddine Laalej and Ms Houda Mirouche of Zelij Invent, from Morocco- ZELIJ INVENT is an African social enterprise that has developed a hollow recycled block from new formula based on 50% of plastic waste and a whole new cost-effective production process.
Ms. Olivia Awuor of Pine Kazi Ltd, from Kenya- PineKazi is a new and innovative social business venture that is reimagining how footwear products are made using the efficiencies of nature by using locally sourced pineapple fibers to make a sustainable fabric which is used to make shoes.
The United Nations notes that Africa has the world’s youngest population, with 70 per cent of Sub-Sahara’s population below the age of 30. The inclusion of the young people in the sustainable industrialization and sustainable structural transformation processes of the continent is critical to ensure that Africa builds the productive, green and innovative capacities it needs to compete regionally and globally on industrial markets. In order to harness its demographic dividend, it is imperative for the continent to empower its youth to engage in innovation and entrepreneurship.
