The COVID-19 pandemic has without a doubt exacerbated major economic and social challenges across the globe.

In Africa, young people, especially the vulnerable youth, have not been spared the devastating effects of the pandemic. The disruption by the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified many of the challenges already facing the continent’s youth.

The challenge for all is to embolden young people to escalate their contributions to the African recovery agenda by spearheading a network of local catalytic solutions, supported by regional advocacy and policy influencing.

This is why YOTA (Youth Opportunity & Transformation in Africa) has launched the Youth Innovation Challenge to foster and nurture catalytic youth-led solutions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Challenge forms part of activities under the Africa Youth Partnership to Advocate an Equitable Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Criterion:

YOTA is supporting young innovators to drive change and contribute to post-pandemic recovery efforts through grassroots innovations and social action. This is to alleviate the negative consequences of the pandemic on young people and their communities while elevating the ideas, ingenuity, and creativity of young innovators working to address the effects of the global health crisis.

YOTA is calling out to young innovators from Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria to participate in the Youth Innovation Challenge, by showcasing their ideas and proposed solutions for addressing the many challenges posed to the continent, by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are looking for the most talented young innovators from Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria to showcase their ideas on and proposed solutions for addressing the many challenges posed to the continent by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We want to support youth innovation for the advancement of inclusive and equitable post-pandemic recovery efforts.

Individuals or teams of young innovators in participating countries can take part in the Challenge by deploying the human-centered design approach to problem-solving in education and skills, youth employment and enterprises, health systems and treatment, vaccine equity, distribution, and uptake, among others.

The best ideas or solutions from each participating country, as decided by our panel of judges and peers, will receive a mix of financial support, complete with expert advice, networking, tools, and other opportunities to enable them to implement their solutions.

Challenge Sectors:

The thematic focus of the Youth Innovation Challenge cuts across several sectors, as long as a direct connection can be made to post-pandemic recovery potential.

In particular, we are looking for youth-led solutions that address challenges in one or more of the following themes:

• Agriculture and Fisheries
• Biodiversity
• Digitalisation, AI, and Emerging Technologies
• Education and Skills
• Employment
• Energy and Industry
• Finance, Trade, and International Investment
• Gender
• Governance and Politics
• Health and Wellbeing, including Vaccines
• Housing and Infrastructure Development
• Local and Regional Development
• Migration
• Mobility and Transport
• Tourism

Timeline of Events:

• 11th July 2022

First Round Submissions Open

• 29th July 2022

First Round Submissions Deadline

• 12th August 2022 (International Youth Day)

Announcement of shortlisted submissions

• 15th August To 30th September 2022

Business development support, coaching, networking opportunities and technical assistance for shortlisted submissions

• 15th September 2022

Second Round Submissions end

• 23rd September 2022 (At The UN General Assembly)

Announcement of top four submissions with cash awards

Eligibility:

• An individual young person between the age of 18 and 35; or an informal group of young people, or a local youth- or women-led organization or company (both non-profit or for-profit are welcome); female candidates or teams with predominantly female members are particularly encouraged to apply.

• Nationals of Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria who are resident in their countries or based in the diaspora.

• Persons who are passionate about using their skills to design innovative solutions to promote addressing the many socio-economic challenges posed to your country by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Truly innovative and impactful ideas or solutions that have the potential to change lives in a sustainable way.

Awards:

Participants of the Youth Innovation Challenge stand the chance of receiving a mix of support to enable them to implement their solutions, including:

• Up to $5,000 USD of funding per project

• Business development advice from top experts in the field of innovation and human-centered design

• Access to carefully curated tools and resources to support the full cycle of youth-led innovation and human-centered design

• Opportunity to become part of a growing community of young African innovators for ongoing learning, sharing, and networking

• Opportunity to be supported to showcase solutions across various international multi-stakeholder platforms, processes, and convenings before the end of 2022

Submissions Deadline:

29th July 2022

Young innovators across these 4 countries are encouraged to submit their applications by clicking here.

The program is designed to take the skill acquisition programmes to the rural youth population with the objectives to create income-earning opportunities, stem youth restiveness, discourage rural-urban drift and grow the local economy.

The target demography are Nigerians youths who are of native origins from a rural community and are also in need of business start-ups and fundamental business skills.

Host: Federal Government of Nigeria
Tagged: Training
Eligible Country: Nigeria
Benefits: 300,000 Naira Stipends | Grants
Deadline: Not Specified

The Rural Youth Skill Acquisition Programme RYSA is organised by the Centre for Rural Youth Entrepreneurship and Environmental Development with support from the Federal Government with UNCDF, UNIDO and EU as funding partners.

The RYSA programme has two training components as follows:

The Practical / Hands-on training: This entails training of beneficiaries of the programme to acquire further practical skills required for them to succeed in their chosen enterprises. This training will be carved out by Master Trainers designated across different communities Nationwide.

The Community Business School (CBS) training: The CBS Is a mandatory programme for all RYSA beneficiaries to be undertaken once a week for twelve weeks in the course of the practical/hands-on training programmes. The programme is meant to equip beneficiaries with life and business skills that are critical to success in life and business.

Community Business School (CBS) Course Outline:

• Introduction to Business
• Customer Relations
• Marketing
• Book Keeping
• Community Service and Volunteerism
• Business Networking
• Business Modelling

List of Skill-Sets/Enterprises/Ventures :

• Aluminum Profiling
• Catering and Confectioneries
• Electrical Installations and Repairs
• Fashion and Designs
• Hair Dressing
• Makeover
• Plumbing
• POP, Screed Making and Painting
• Tiling
• Welding and Fabrication
• Woodwork and Furniture
• Solar Works
• Auto Mechanic

Requirements:

The criteria that must be met by applicants for selection;

• Must be between eighteen (18) to thirty-five (35) years of age.
• Must hail from a rural community accross the 36 states in Nigeria.
• Must have First School Leaving Certificate (FSLC) or higher.
• Must have basic knowledge on any of the listed enterprises/ventures , and have shown interests in RYSA program.
• Be willing to learn new skills in the choosen area, which will help grow his/her personal venture after the training course.

Duration and Reward

Monthly Stipend: Beneficiaries of the program will receive the minimum monthly stipend of N50,000 in the course of their 6(six) months training with RYSA.

Startup-Packs: The Startup-packs for RYSA Nigeria program are;

• Work Tools
• Seed Grants

The Work Tools are equipments that will be given to beneficiaries at the end of the training, which will be used to start up their own enterprise. While the Seed Grant supports their ventures as new employers of manpower.

Required Documents

• Passport Photograph: must be with white background and must be in jpg or png format only.
• Local Government Certificate of Origin: must be in jpg, png or pdf format only.
• Birth Certificate or Sworn Afidavit of Age Declaration: must be in jpg, png or pdf format only.
• Means of Identification: This should be either of the following; NIN , Voters ID , Drivers License , International Passports. These also must be in jpg, png or pdf format only.

Do not upload documents that are larger than 500kbs, it will not be processed.

If you do not receive the verification email, kindly wait for 10-15minutes then login with your registered email address and password.

Method of Application

Interested candidates should Complete and submit the online application form , which will require confirming their registration with a valid email address then setting up your contact information

• Interested candidates must enroll and pass the proficiency test in his/her chosen skill area to be eligible for the programme.
• Beneficiaries must complete the Refresher/CBS training before the Start-up Packs presentation.
• Candidates must pass the training completion proficiency test and Community Business School (CBS) training test before been awarded Certificate and given support.
• Successful Beneficiaries must subject themselves to the mentoring process of the Centre for Rural Youth Entrepreneurship and Environmental Development.

It is important to visit the official website to access the application form and for more detailed information on how to apply for this offer.

FIND OUT MORE AND APPLY

Deadline:

Not Specified

Deji Alli ARM Young Talent Award is an ARM initiative in partnership with TechnoVision’s TVC Labs that aims at providing young Nigerians with an opportunity to develop innovative start-up ventures that add economic value to Nigeria.

The DAAYTA 2023 initiative is in line with ARM’s commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with the aim of building a generation of change leaders, working together to build a better future.

Host: TechnoVision
Tagged: Competitions
Eligible Country: Nigeria
Reward: ₦12,000,000 (twelve million naira)
Deadline: December 27, 2022

The Deji Alli ARM Young Talent Award (DAAYTA) programme was inaugurated by ARM in honor of its founding CEO in 2015 to promote lifelong learning by helping young Nigerian graduates and undergraduates bring ideas to life.

It seeks to support business ideas that intentionally create a positive societal impact while generating a financial return.

Requirements:

To be eligible for the award, the applicant must:

1. be a citizen of Nigeria
2. be between 18 and 35 years of age
3. submit their application which must be their original work
4. have an MVP (minimum viable product) i.e. you have customers
5. be able to fund his/her/team travel expenses and other associated costs if required
6. be available (with co-founders/team where they exist) for the 2-day Pitch Workshop and Final Pitch Event scheduled for April 2023
7. understand the business of ARM, what we stand for; and
8. be ready to represent ARM as an Ambassador

Duration and Reward

The winner of DAAYTA 2023 shall, subject to the Terms & Conditions , receive funding of ₦12,000,000 (twelve million naira) over a period of one (1) year for the following purposes:

1. contribution to working capital;
2. participation in an entrepreneurial education programme at the Pan Atlantic University’s Enterprise Development Centre in Lagos, Nigeria
3. 5-month acceleration support services for the development of their venture by TVC Labs.

For more information on eligibility criteria, kindly refer to the Terms & Conditions

Method of Application

Interested and qualified applicants should apply using the link below.

FIND OUT MORE AND APPLY

Deadline:

December 27, 2022

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals.

Host: Microsoft
Tagged: Internship
Eligibility: Undergraduate & PostGraduate Students
Eligible Countries: Nigeria
Benefits: Training | Mentorship | Opportunities to network and connect
Deadline: Not Specified

The internship is created for you to not only conduct excellent work while having the chance to learn and develop, but also to experience our culture, which is full of memorable events, executive participation, and interactions with varied community members.

At Microsoft, Interns work on real-world projects in collaboration with teams across the world, while having fun along the way. You’ll be empowered to build  community, explore your passions, and achieve your goals. This is your chance to bring your solutions and ideas to life while working on innovative technology.

Responsibilities

• Applies engineering principles to solve complex problems through sound and creative engineering.
• Quickly learns new engineering methods and incorporates them into his or her work processes.
• Seeks feedback and applies internal or industry best practices to improve his or her technical solutions.
• Demonstrates skill in time management and completing software projects in a cooperative team environment.

Internship Requirements

Pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering, computer science or related field.

• Must have at least one additional quarter/semester of school remaining following the completion of the internship

• Programming experience in an object-oriented language (C, C#, C++, Java, Python).

• Ability to demonstrate an understanding of computer science fundamentals, including data structures and algorithms.

Internship Benefits

Benefits/perks listed below may vary depending on the nature of your employment with Microsoft and the country where you work.

• Industry leading healthcare
• Giving programs
• Opportunities to network and connect
• Discounts on products and services

APPLICATION LINK HERE

Deadline:

Not Specified

The Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) owns and operates the largest power distribution network in Nigeria. A customer-focused organisation, IKEDC is committed to empowering the lives and businesses of its users through innovation and the efficient distribution of sustainable power.

Host: Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC)
Tagged: Internships | Training
Eligible Countries: Nigeria
Reward: Training | Mentorship | Employment
Deadline: August 31, 2022

Ikeja Electric has over 600,000 customers who the company is committed to serve with a New Spirit, New Drive and New Energy. This resolve continues to elicit a passion for service excellence and new thinking on how to empower lives and businesses across the IE network.

Applications are currently open for the 2022 Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) program for Young Engineers.

Requirements:
To be considered, you must:

• Be preferably fresh from the university but certainly with not more than 2 years’ experience
• Be highly intelligent, hardworking, having the ability to apply common sense in analyzing and resolving problems and who value integrity more than wealth.
• Have minimum B.Sc. or, preferably, M.Sc. Degree in Engineering, in one of the following disciplines Electrical Engineering and Electronics Engineering from reputable Universities with a minimum of 2nd class upper
• Have completed NYSC
• Be maximum age of 27 years as of August 2022

Benefits

Successful candidates will be expected to work within the power distribution sector with experienced engineers, developing skills and experience in order to become a competent and effective professional Engineer within the Power Sector and provided with challenging job opportunities.

Required Documents

To apply, candidates must be ready to submit the following documents;

• Application Form (to be filled online)
• Resume/CV
• Degree Certificate

Method of Application

Interested and qualified candidates should fill the application form and upload the necessary documents using the link below.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Deadline:

August 31, 2022