UN issues an open call for MENA climate tech innovators

UN issues an open call for MENA climate tech innovators.

UN Climate Technology Centre Network (CTCN)’s collaboration between, SAFEEM, and Seedstars dubbed The Youth Climate Innovation Lab, is a fast-paced three-day event where youth innovators from across the MENA region, (Middle East and North Africa), with the help of climate technology, entrepreneurship, and business experts, will explore design thinking tools to ideate and validate innovative solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation within specific industries and technology fields.

In response to the risks posed by climate change to the MENA area, the program will enable participants stretch their entrepreneurial muscles and, by the program’s conclusion, develop commercial solutions for enhanced climate action.

With governments across the MENA region leapfrogging their nations towards oil-independent economies, it is time to equip our youth with the knowledge and tools to drive climate action initiatives,

Said Mohamad Fanous, Program Manager MENA of Seedstars.

The participants will be encouraged to think outside the box and together develop practical solutions and business concepts to address urgent concerns related to climate change with the assistance of private sector experts, business owners, and innovation facilitators.

Participants in this program will have access to a hands-on learning environment where they may experiment with and put into practice frameworks for ideation and validation in order to find creative, workable, and long-lasting solutions to common and pressing issues.

The launchpad is the third installment of its international series, bringing together pioneers in climate technology from Latin America, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.

The program welcomes either individuals (who will eventually be put into teams) or groups with a minimum of two participants. In order to be eligible for the program, participants must meet the following requirements:

• The age bracket for participants must be between 20 and 30;
• obtained higher education;
• Must be an aspiring entrepreneur or student interested in developing business skills and developing a climate change idea;
• Must be enthusiastic about addressing the MENA region’s requirements and difficulties for climate technology, particularly those related to urban planning, smart cities, and construction, as well as renewable energy and hybrid energy systems, circularity and waste management, agritech and foodtech, ecology and reforestation, and transportation.

After the Climate Innovation Lab, the winners from the MENA area will take part in the 6–8 week Climate Innovation Academy Program run by Seedstars and receive additional help to put their solutions into practice and grow them.

The top three teams will each earn $1.8K in cash and a trip to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), which will be held in Egypt in November 2022.