Greenpreneurs is a free 12-week virtual incubator supporting young people to develop social enterprise solutions that address sustainability and climate change issues in their community.

Developed in partnership with the Global Green Growth Initiative (GGGI) and Youth Climate Lab (YCL), Greenpreneurs 2021 will select 15 teams from around the world to participate in the third iteration of the program this summer, with weekly learning modules that include webinars and tasks, as well as weekly coaching from mentors and subject matter experts. At the end of the 12-week program, teams will compete for a chance to receive prize money to further expand their initiative.

Applications are now open until April 27th, 23:59 UTC! Find the application form here. Visit www.studentenergy.org/greenpreneurs to learn more about the program.

Is Greenpreneurs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?

Greenpreneurs was developed as a fully virtual, cost-free program from its inception, so that it could be accessible to young people all around the world, at all stages of their education or careers. In 2020, we adapted part of our 12-week online curriculum in response to public health guidelines on social distancing, to fully support teams to develop impactful projects with their teams even if they temporarily do not have access to university facilities, meeting spaces, or the ability to conduct in-person consultations and community engagement activities. Winning teams also received the opportunity to present their final pitches virtually at the Global Green Growth Institute’s Annual Meeting, where they received prize money to scale their social enterprises.

We hope that Greenpreneurs will offer an opportunity for young people to continue building the skills and professional networks that they need to take action, while developing impactful solutions that will build resilience in their communities. In addition to fostering remote teamwork, we will be introducing additional content to equip participants with the tools they need to be effective leaders that can respond to the needs of their communities in a time of multiple global crises.

Learn more about Greenpreneurs experience and our past winning teams here.

How to apply:

Applications are now open and will close on April 27th, 23:59 UTC. Young people between the ages of 17 and 35 can form a team and submit their idea for a solution in the following focus areas:

• sustainable energy
• sustainable landscapes (forestry, marine ecosystems, and agriculture)
• green city development

These priority themes reflect the urgent issues impeding sustainable growth in developing countries, and in achieving climate change targets and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While teams may apply from anywhere, priority will be given to teams applying from one of GGGI’s Member Countries.

Acknowledging that women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate and development impacts, Greenpreneurs strongly encourages women-led teams to apply for the 12-week online program. If you have any questions, please contact greenpreneurs@studentenergy.org

About the organizations:

The expertise and country network of the Global Green Growth Institute, the 50,000 youth network of Student Energy, and the mentorship and entrepreneurship capacities of Youth Climate Lab provides unprecedented reach and support for green growth entrepreneurship. We all work with the Sustainable Development Goals, climate action and the sustainable energy transition so this coalition is a way to pool our strengths and directly impact the lives of prospective entrepreneurs addressing some of the world’s greatest challenges.

Based in Seoul, Republic of Korea, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is a treaty-based inter-governmental organization that supports developing country governments transition to a model of economic growth that is environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive. GGGI supports 39 Members to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals and the Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement.

Greenpreneurs is a unique initiative in GGGI due to its global and multi-sectoral scope, focusing on young entrepreneurs in all GGGI Members.