Six Climate Smart Enterprises awarded with Innovation Grant by Nepali Yuwa in Climate Action and Green Growth project

By CREASION
Sep 30, 2022

The award ceremony was organized by CREASION, who is leading the Climate Smart Entrepreneurship component of Nepali Yuwa in Climate Action and Green Growth (NYCAGG) project, on 30 September 2022. The event was chaired by the Hon’ble Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Forest of Madhesh Province, Shatrudhan Mahato. NYCGG project is funded by the European Union and focuses on empowering youths (15-29 years) by offering them a platform for strengthening their entrepreneurial growth in the green economy sector and engaging them in disaster and climate-related governance and advocacy.

Climate Fellowship, Climate Smart Entrepreneurship, Mentee-mentorship, Digital Advocacy, and Youth Sounding Board are the activities that are being conducted in Madhesh Province work towards empowering young people, providing them employment opportunities, generating innovative ideas to address climate and environmental issues, and advocating for policy changes to promote environmental protection. Through Climate Smart Entrepreneurship, 20 ideas were selected from Madhesh Province and were groomed and mentored through expert sessions and peer mentors. Selected 20 ideas can be explored here: (https://theyouthcan.org/climate-smart-entrepreneurship).

In the first half of the award ceremony, selected ideas pitched their Climate Smart Enterprise in front of the participants which included representatives from provincial governments, the EU, colleges, students, and media. The pitching session was evaluated by Ramakanta Sarma, NYC, and Mala Ray, Journalist and Social Activist. In the second half of the award ceremony, Goma Karki, Project Lead, briefed the participants about the NYCAGG project, Phurpa Sherpa, Innovation Coordinator briefed about Climate Smart Entrepreneurship followed by special remarks from the distinguished guests and result announcement of six winners of Innovation Grant 2022 that is worth NPR 1,25,000 aiming to be invested in the business.

Six selected ideas for Innovation Grant 2022 are:

Vermicompost Nepal, Mahottari led by the team Nisha Tiwari, Swastika Chaudhary, and Kamal Dev Yadav

Reusable Pad, Siraha by Sushma Shah

Phoolbati, Saptari led by Rishav Das

Mithila Art, Siraha led by the team Akanksha Jha and Santosh Yadav

Pandit Maati Madka Shop, Mahottari by Rabindra Pandit

Pure Water-clay Filter, Saptari by Bardan Shrestha

Speaking at the event, Hon’ble Minister of Industry, Tourism, and Forest of Madhesh Province, Shatrudhan Mahato, stated that the impact of climate change cannot be ignored, and youth need to be at the forefront. Congratulating the winners, hon’ble minister Shatrudhan emphasized the need of thinking about the long-term impact of our activities. These six ideas have put forward the ideas and innovation to counter the current challenges leading to climate change. They will not only be creating employment opportunities but also creating space for innovation and business that will be addressing the current concern of our societies. Deputy Head of Cooperation, EU, Eloisa Astudillo shared that climate change is one of the biggest challenges for everyone in the world and it has become a global problem.

Addressing the entrepreneurs, she added youth are the solution and we need to create space for youth. We have realized that youth often do not have space to bring their voice, and that is why we want to work with youth, empower them, and listen to them. Closing the event, Aanand Mishra, the Founder and President of CREASON, thanked the distinguished guests, the organizing team, and the 17 teams who presented their ideas despite the busyness due to the festival. Encouraging youth to bring forward their ideas, he appreciated youth speaking openly about the challenges, especially sanitary hygiene. Madhesh Province is rich in culture but if we look into the HDI index, we are even behind Karnali Province. We need youth to come forward and invest in their community to make Madhesh and tap into the rich history, culture, and resources here.

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