236 young innovators in the Volta Region, comprising 162 women and 74 men have been shortlisted under the Young Africa Innovates (YAI) Programme to be nurtured through boot camps and empowered to scale up their ideas with the view to creating sustainable jobs. Out of the number, 39 are persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Leveraging on its vast experience in the Volta Region, International Needs Ghana (INGH) in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with funding from Mastercard Foundation scouted and identified these young innovators. The journey to identify these eligible people begun in August and ended in November 2024.
The YAI programme aims at putting young people, especially young women and PWDs, at the centre of driving solutions that unlock economic opportunities and improve their well-being and resilience. Aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), YAI fosters inclusive and sustainable economic growth, creating opportunities for decent work, particularly for youth in marginalized communities.
A key feature of the project’s success is its emphasis on stakeholder engagement. An inception meeting was held, bringing together key stakeholders from organizations such as Department of Social Welfare, the National Youth Authority, the Department of Gender, the Volta Regional Coordinating Council and the media. This meeting ensured that stakeholders understood the project’s objectives, aligned their goals and expectations from the outset fostering a shared sense of ownership and commitment to the project’s success.
Six exciting innovation fairs were also held to provide a platform for these young innovators to showcase their ideas, products, and services in fields ranging from IT and food to the arts. At these events, selected innovators had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a broader audience, sparking creativity, collaboration, and the development of groundbreaking new solutions.
INGH also held a dissemination meeting to share with key stakeholders their findings from their rigorous tour of the 18 administrative districts in the Volta Region.
