Mbabane – Young Emaswati have been challenged to stop viewing environmental problems only as threats and instead identify business opportunities within them.
The call was made during the launch of the Eswatini PachiPanda Challenge – Likhambi Lemvelo, a youth innovation programme being powered by MTN Eswatini in partnership with Likusasa Letfu.
The programme is seeking young innovators who can develop practical solutions to problems such as water shortages, climate pressures, waste, energy challenges and declining natural ecosystems.
The Minister of Information, Communications and Technology Savannah Maziya told young people attending the launch that their ideas were needed to help shape the country’s future.
“Your country needs your ideas. Your communities need your creativity,” the Minister said.
He encouraged young people not to wait until they had all the answers before taking action.
Instead, he said they should begin with problems they could see around them, work
with others, test their ideas and improve them.
From problems to opportunities
The Minister said Eswatini needed a generation that could look at challenges from a different perspective.
He gave the example of waste, saying young people should ask how value could be created from it.
He also challenged innovators to think about how technology could be used to manage water more intelligently and how new opportunities could be created in response to climate pressures.
The challenge comes at a time when environmental concerns are increasingly linked to employment, entrepreneurship and economic development.
MTN Eswatini CEO Jerry Soko said the initiative sought to create a pathway for young innovators to move from ideas to businesses.
He said the country’s environmental challenges could also provide opportunities for innovation.
Four areas for innovators
Applications are now open to Emaswati aged 18 to 35 and youth-led businesses.
Applicants can submit solutions under four categories:
- Reimagining Food & Farming
- Securing Eswatini’s Water Future
- Restoring Nature, Creating Opportunity
- Turning Waste & Energy Challenges into Opportunity
Twenty applicants will be selected for a one-week Green Innovation Accelerator Programme.
After the accelerator, 10 finalists will proceed to the National Pitch Day, where three winners will be selected.
The first-place winner will receive US$5 000, while second and third place will receive US$3 000 and US$2 000, respectively.
The three winners will then represent Eswatini at the regional Africa PachiPanda Challenge.
Skills beyond the competition
According to the Minister, the programme goes beyond competition because it brings together education, entrepreneurship, enterprise development and an enabling environment.
Participants will have access to MTF online courses, where they can learn from market experts as well as local and international specialists.
They will also receive training in teamwork, creative thinking, entrepreneurship and the use of digital technology.
The enterprise development component will assist participants in taking their ideas towards practical implementation.
The Minister said collaboration between MTN, government, the private sector, parastatals and communities would be important in supporting young entrepreneurs.
Likusasa Letfu, led by Director Yael Uzan-Tidhar, is MTN’s implementing partner in the Eswatini challenge.
The programme will also provide continued incubation, mentorship and business development support to finalists after the competition.
Soko said MTN was looking forward to seeing solutions emerge from the programme and young Emaswati taking their ideas to the regional stage.
“The future of Africa’s green economy will not be built in boardrooms alone. It will be built by innovators, by entrepreneurs, by dreamers who are prepared to act,” he said.
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