Green Entrepreneurship Program Launched by Tony Elumelu Foundation, UNICEF, and IKEA Foundation

With the goal of impacting African youth, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, UNICEF's Generation Unlimited, and IKEA Foundation have collaborated to launch the Green Entrepreneurship Programme that will empower youths in Africa to tackle the planetary crises of climate change, resource scarcity, and biodiversity loss.

The statement released by the three (3) foundations stated that the partnership was formed to create a unique initiative that will not only educate the region but also create job opportunities for the next generation of African entrepreneurs.

According to the statement, the programme tends to provide young African entrepreneurs with mentoring, training, and necessary funds needed to help boost Africa's sustainable future.

With the help of mentorship programmes, workshops, and funding opportunities, qualified participants of the programme will have the ability to start green businesses that will address issues affecting their environs.

The key objectives of BeGreen Africa include youth empowerment, green job creation, addressing the triple planetary crisis, fostering innovation, and building a sustainable future.

Also, BeGreen Africa's founding partners will leverage their collective expertise, private sector and youth networks, close relations with the government, and extensive field presence beyond Africa, particularly in Kenya, to develop a green-focused model that addresses the capacity and gaps needed in identifying target youth.

They will also have trainers who will deliver the training through alumni network connections and facilitate mentorship.

The founding partners will also provide seed capital funding that will help the accepted BeGreen entrepreneurs start, develop, and boost their green businesses.

Commenting on this, the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Tony Elumelu, expressed that he believes this is going to be a great step in empowering young Africans with the entrepreneurial skills needed to boost the green economy.

He said,

• We know the critical role that green entrepreneurship and agripreneurship play in driving innovative solutions to environmental issues and are keen to empower our young ones across Africa, starting with Kenya, to deploy innovative solutions to the climate crisis.

The BeGreen application portal is expected to be open to young African entrepreneurs on September 30, 2023.