20 young African entrepreneurs bag $100,000 each to boost their climate adaptation businesses.

Twenty young Africans whose enterprises offer innovative solutions that foster climate change adaptation and resilience have each received $100,000 awards for winning the 2022-2023 African Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge (#YouthAdapt Challenge).

When we save Africa, we save the world; when we save the world, we save it for the youth of today and tomorrow.

How my award transformed my business -2021 recipient Gislaine Matiedje Nkenmayi

Gislaine Matiedje Nkenmayi, from Cameroon, was one of 10 young Africans who won the #YouthAdapt Challenge award in 2021.

Ms. Nkenmayi manages Muminta Holdings - an agro-processing company based in Buea, Southwest region of Cameroon. The company is involved in tackling the short life cycle in the vegetable value chain.

'The $100,000 we received enabled us to engage with more farmers, from 357 to now more than 700 smallholder farmers, mostly women. The farmers themselves are employing more people,' says Ms. Nkenmayi.

'We got into this business because we realised that women vegetable farmers were experiencing heavy post-harvest losses, sometimes up to 90%, because of a lack of storage facilities. They were also facing and vegetable dehydration because of drought caused by climate change.

They have now established 10 low-cost greenhouses through farmers' cooperatives to ensure the farmers can cultivate all year round.

'And we have solar-powered irrigation systems to help pump water from water tanks or boreholes to the greenhouses.

They also provide post-harvest technique training to the farmers and link them to new markets. As a result, the organisation has shortened the time between production and demand.

'More women are now getting involved. We have increased agricultural productivity, empowered more women and boosted climate adaptation,' says Ms. Nkenmayi.

'Winning this Award is a life-changing opportunity. It will enable us [her business Iriba Water Group] to provide more drinking water for people and to create more jobs,'

- Award winner Yvette Ishimwe from Rwanda

Selected from 3,000 entries, the 20 winners will also receive mentorship and coaching.

African Development Bank (AfDB), the Global Centre on Adaptation (GCA) and the UN Climate Investment Funds (CIF) to 'boost sustainable job creation through support for entrepreneurship and youth-led innovation in climate change...