African winners of The Earthshot Prize - Keep It Cool, a cold tech and logistics startup, and GAYO, a startup focused on reducing urban waste - not only brought African pride to this year's awards ceremony but also cast a spotlight on how a new generation of young Africans will change the world.
by 
Bonface Orucho, bird story agency
“This is to the youth of Africa. This is to the youth in the world,” declared Desmond Alugnoa, the co-founder of GAYO, one of two African organisations that won the 2024 Earthshot Prize.
Alugnoa dedicated his organisation’s Earthshot Prize award to the continent’s youth during an awards ceremony broadcast live from Cape Town. The Earthshot Prize is an annual prize that honours climate-smart solutions from around the world.
The win by two African organisations, Keep It Cool and GAYO, among five global winners selected from fifteen finalists highlights the growing role of African youth as trailblazers.
“Young people are hungry to innovate… they’re stepping into a carbon-constrained world that demands new ways of thinking about production, consumption, construction, nature, and oceans, and are demanding new ways of doing things,” Wanjira Maathai, Managing Director for Africa and Global Partnerships at the World Resources Institute and a Council Member of The Earthshot Prize, emphasised in an interview with bird story agency.
“Africa’s youth are not just part of the future; they’re shaping it right now,” Maathai explained, noting that access to new media and digital tools is amplifying their potential.
Africa boasts the world’s youngest population, with over 70% of its people under 30, according to the UN. Experts see this as a powerful asset with immense potential to harness youth-driven innovation to accelerate climate-resilient solutions across the continent.
During Earthshot Week in Cape Town, youth participants representing different countries and continents shared perspectives on their role in driving meaningful impact through innovative solutions.
“African youth are innovators and problem-solvers. We’re not waiting for others to hand-hold us. Even with limited resources, we’re doing the work in our communities, showing ingenuity and a strong capacity for solving problems,” Natalie Mangondo, a principal expert in sustainable finance at Grid Arendal, shared.
Ishraq Osman, co-founder of the Sudan Climate Collective, believes youth are key to bridging the gap between global resources and local action.
“Sudan’s largest demographic is youth, and they’ve played a central role in the 2019 revolution that brought new hope to the country. We now have a huge network of youth, both in Sudan and in the diaspora,” she explained in an interview.
Through their initiative, which digitises grassroots communities and connects them to a global support network, Osman believes young Sudanese leaders now have the capacity to drive meaningful change in their communities, even against the backdrop of civil war.
“We may lack access to extensive financing, but Africa’s youth are stepping up and proving that we have what it takes to shape a sustainable future. We’re demonstrating how Africa can leapfrog over traditional carbon-based development,” Mangondo added.
The youth believe with continued support through programs such as the Earthshot Prize, innovations from the continent can be scaled to gain global recognition and influence.
“African winners of the TEP confirm that organizations focused on positive impact and environmental consciousness can become major players, even billion-dollar organizations, standing alongside Silicon Valley tech companies,” A’aron John, a panelist at Earthshot X, said.
As winners bagged a £1 million (over US$1.2 million) prize to scale their solutions and expand their impact on communities and the planet, the event also offered further capital and technical support to the continent’s companies.
Each of the 15 Earthshot Prize Finalists receives dedicated mentorship, resources, and technical support through the year-long Earthshot Prize Fellowship Programme.
Support includes access to the Prize’s robust network of influential experts and partners, including The Earthshot Prize’s Global Alliance of Partners, comprised of some of the world’s largest businesses, donors, investors, and environmental organisations committed to climate action.
Finalists will also have access to Launchpad, Earthshot’s bespoke online finance platform, to matchmake Earthshot solutions to a growing community of members made up of mission-aligned donors and investors seeking to speed proven environmental solutions to scale.
Launchpad comprises over 200 investors, comprising a network of donors, corporations, and other stakeholders. Through this platform, strategic connections are made to accelerate impactful innovations and drive positive environmental change.
In a recent deal through the platform, Australia-based Sea Forest partnered with NOA’s HERD, an agri-tech company in Uganda, to help East African farmers decarbonize livestock using environmentally-friends feeds.
Organisers of the prize also unveiled £6M (US$7.8 million) in partnerships to amplify its impact in Africa, including £3M (US$3.9 million) from the Motsepe Foundation for the Africa Innovation Partnership, £2M (US$2.6 million) for an accelerator program with Ninety One, and £1M (US$1.3 million) to establish a Sustainable Entrepreneurship Fellowship at GIBS in South Africa.
On November 7, global conservation funders unveiled US$90 million in funding to protect African landscapes.
“Seeing peers like Keep It Cool and GAYO, who won and were finalists, was a strong reminder that once we come together, African youth can turn potential into tangible action on the ground… African youth represent resilience, strength, and persistence,” Osman remarked.
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