Entrepreneurship & Innovation

1 out 3 Africans are unemployed, while entrepreneurship has the potential to create millions of jobs, yet over 54% of startups still fail within the first five years. We believe that by building entrepreneurial capacity among African youth, we will not only catalyze green entrepreneurship and innovation but spur growth of the African green economy which has potential to alleviate youth unemployment while solving pressing climate challenges across the continent.

We are curbing the startup mortality rate by providing opportunities for young people to access knowledge, resources and networks to build plus launch startups that address the intersection of climate issues and three primary focus areas:

JLA Entrepreneurship & Innovation Focus Areas

OUR INITIATIVES

The GreenLabs program

GreenLabs is an incubation program that provides an environment to nurture, equip, and empower young entrepreneurs to solve climate change challenges and launch green startups in Africa’s green economy.

While there is a weak body of knowledge on green entrepreneurship, including gaps in climate action financing, young people in Africa have great ideas and require start-up and post-incubation support to launch green businesses.

Learn How

We are increasing the pipeline of feasible and scalable Green Ventures within the African green economy through an early-stage startup incubator.

Competition

We invite African youth to present unique ideas to solve local climate challenges and they undergo a rigorous pitching and vetting process. We provide access to resourceful industry mentors and curated toolkits, to support their ideation process.

Incubation Program

Young people go through a rigorous 9-month process of training using bespoke curricula and mentorship, to enable them to build entrepreneurial skills. We enable them to get access to playbooks, resources, industrial exposure, and networks that will add value to their startup founding process.

Startup Launch

By the end of the incubation program, participants must have market-ready MVPs, begin generating revenue, and be investor-ready.

Overview

Mwanzo Spaces

We are engendering interest amongst African youth to the rigors of the entrepreneurial journey in Africa through a webinar series. We are building their capacity to ideate and create locally relevant innovative ventures. With participants from across sub-Saharan Africa we offer a rich platform for exposure, collaboration and growth.