Call for Applications: Leap Africa Youth Enterprise Fund: Apply Now Around the world, social entrepreneurship is increasingly seen as an accelerating force towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From facilitating inclusive economic growth and education, to leading digital transformations, to defending human rights and improving access to basic services, young social innovators play a vital role in building the world as it should be. And yet, they face various obstacles to sustaining and growing their businesses, particularly when it comes to acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills and accessing financing.
The Youth Enterprise Fund (YEF) fills this gap by facilitating access to flexible financing, needs-based mentoring and support for early and mid-stage social enterprises in Nigeria. YEF, funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and implemented in partnership with LEAP Africa, targets alumni of LEAP Africa’s Social Innovators Program with the aim of helping awardees increase the impact and sustainability of their work. In addition to supporting young social entrepreneurs, the project will also use system change tools and approaches to map the Nigerian social entrepreneurship ecosystem and develop a strategy to engage relevant stakeholders in sustaining and scaling the scale of YEF’s innovative approaches.
The initiative is expected to generate valuable evidence on how actors engaged in philanthropy and entrepreneurship can better diagnose the needs and potential of young social entrepreneurs at different stages of business maturity.
TIMEFRAME
- 2022-2024
REGION
COUNTRIES
LOCATIONS
- Lagos, Nigeria
TARGETED YOUTH
PROFESSIONAL FIELD
IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS
FUNDING PARTNERS
