YWF Latin America 2021 training
From 13th March to 29th May 2021, 12 start-ups took part in the first 7 virtual sessions of the of the Young Water Fellowship 2021 Latin America edition training. The training was delivered online in partnership with cewas and Impact Hub CDMX and was attended by more than 40 young entrepreneurs from all corners of Latin America. During the training, they learned how to analyze demand for their solutions, evaluate the market and their competitors, identify potential customer segments, and shape their value proposition and income generation model. Through the creation of a customer journey map, part of the business canvas, empathy maps and interviews,...
First WASH entrepreneurship ecosystem meeting in Ivory Coast
On April 16th, Young Water Solutions, in partnership with Incub’Ivoir, organised the first meeting for stakeholders from the WASH entrepreneurship ecosystem in Abidjan. The event brought together 30 actors from the sectors of water & sanitation and entrepreneurship. The meeting was the first of its kind, a space to focus on what it means to be a WASH entrepreneur in Ivory Coast and to build up a picture of the ecosystem surrounding start-ups in water and sanitation. Following a short scene-setting presentation from Eau et Assainissement pour l’Afrique (EAA), participants had the opportunity to exchange opinions about the opportunities for entrepreneurs in the WASH sector...
The Young Water Fellowship Acceleration programme
On 7th April 2021, Young Water Solutions kick-started the first edition of the Young Water Fellowship Acceleration Programme, in partnership with cewas. The programme provides further support for high-potential start-ups from former editions of the YWF and aims at equipping them with skills and know-how to scale their social businesses. The programme is based on a collaborative approach with partners and investors who can support the start-ups whilst increasing the impact of their investment portfolio at the same time. The start-ups will benefit from a wide range of activities, including in-depth enterprise analysis, training on financing and business strategies and final investment matchmaking with partners...
YWF Senegal 2020 training in Saly and Dakar
From 2nd to 15th November 2020, fourteen dynamic young entrepreneurs participated in the training component of the Young Water Fellowship Sénégal. The two-week training on social entrepreneurship in the WASH sector took place in Saly and Dakar and was delivered in partnership with cewas and Concree, and with the participation of stakeholders such as AJPEAS. During the training, the young entrepreneurs had the opportunity to develop their innovative business ideas through activities such as drawing up their business model canvas and sketching out their operational diagram. Additionally, during an internal soirée de pitch, they got a feeling of what it’s like to pitch to an audience and received...
Young Water Solutions newest member of the SWEP
Thanks to the support of the Waterloo Foundation, Young Water Solutions has joined the Sanitation and Water Entrepreneurship Pact (SWEP) with the aim of supporting water and sanitation entrepreneurs more effectively, building an ecosystem around WaSH entrepreneurship and channelling funds where they are most needed. What is the SWEP and why was it created? In the past decade, the universe of players involved in delivering WaSH services has become larger and more diverse, with public, private and third sector entities getting increasingly involved. Many different organisations and programmes which support water and sanitation entrepreneurship have also emerged. The challenge – and the financing gap – remains huge, though, both locally and globally. This begs the question:...
Three Young Water Fellows funded to help fight COVID-19
Thanks to generous funding from the International WaterCentre Alumni Network (IWCAN), three Young Water Fellows were selected to implement projects responding to the threat of Covid-19 in their community. The Fellows selected were Everlyne Nabakka and Patricia Rhoda Nekesa from Uganda and John Tumaini from Kenya. Despite the challenging times that COVID-19 has thrown upon many enterprises, our 2019 Global Young Water Fellow Everlyne Nabakka and partner Daniel Kimbugwe turned a challenge into an opportunity. While Eve’s YWF project usually produces ecological and reusable sanitary pads, she temporarily re-purposed her workshop to produce face masks. In two months, her social enterprise EcoSanitary Uganda successfully manufactured and distributed 2,000 re-usable masks to vulnerable communities, health facilities and key local government departments whilst also contributing to improved hygiene...
COVID-19 Crowdfunding Campaign: initiatives and updates
We want to say a big thank you to the many contributors who helped us reach our goal of €6,600, great job! Special thanks go to BOSAQ and Rotary Club Wavre-Europe for their very generous donations. Through the initiatives described below, the campaign provided an opportunity for youth-led social businesses to stay operational and impactful during these difficult times. Their work has helped restrict the spread of the virus by promoting safe hygiene and supporting vulnerable communities with little or no access to handwashing facilities and protective wear. Thanks to the funds raised, four Young Water Fellows - Nuha Anfaresi (Indonesia), Jenifer Colpas (Colombia), Baseka Saidi (Burundi) and Christopher Sunday (Uganda) - have re-purposed their social...
YWF Côte d’Ivoire 2020 training in Abidjan
From 14th to 27th September 2020, ten dynamic young entrepreneurs participated in the training component of the Young Water Fellowship Côte d’Ivoire. The two-week training on social entrepreneurship in the WASH sector was delivered in partnership with cewas and Incub’Ivoir at a glorious location near Abidjan. The first week of training focused on identifying the WASH problems to be tackled, adapting the entrepreneurs’ solutions accordingly and honing their long-term business plans so as be as self-sufficient and impactful as possible. The second week of training concentrated on the financial management of their social enterprises and planning for their pilot projects. The programme concluded with a...
E-Hackathon in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Informal Settlements in Latin America and the Caribbean: updates and winners
On 11th and 12th September 2020, 120 young entrepreneurs from Latin America and the Caribbean - divided in 30 teams - participated in the E-Hackathon in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Informal Settlements in Latin America, organized by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), in collaboration with cewas and Young Water Solutions. During day one, the participants worked on defining the problem to be addressed, identified solutions and ideas to develop as well as their main costumer segments. The second day of the event focused on validating their ideas and assumptions with their costumer segments as learning how to effectively present the idea in a pitch. The young entrepreneurs developed with great effort and commitment different proposals that could contribute to sustainably solve water, sanitation and hygiene issues. These proposals were subsequently evaluated...
e-Hackathon en agua, saneamiento e higiene en asentamientos informales de América Latina y el Caribe
El Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID), junto a cewas y Young Water Solutions, invita a jóvenes innovadores latinoamericanos/as a participar de este e-Hackathon para generar emprendimientos que contribuyan a la solución de problemas de agua, saneamiento e higiene en asentamientos informales en América Latina y el Caribe. Este evento de dos días de duración (11 y 12 de septiembre de 2020) tiene como objetivo motivar a los jóvenes emprendedores de América Latina y el Caribe a generar con sus equipos ideas innovadoras en agua, saneamiento e higiene. Los grupos ganadores recibirán como premio su participación en la Edición Latinoamericana del Programa Young Water Fellowship 2021, que...