Simbona Has Been Selected for UNECA Youth SDGs Innovation Award, 2023.

Lusaka, Zambia, August 17, 2023 (ECA) The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Sub-regional Office for Southern Africa (SRO-SA), in partnership with the Fifth African Youth Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit and AfriLabs, held a side event on August 17^th on the margins of the Fifth Africa Youth SDGs Summit that took place in Lusaka. Habtamu, CEO and co-founder, received the award in Luzaka, Zambia, on behalf of the Simbona Africa healthcare start-up.

The objective of the side event was to present the six winners of the Africa Youth SDGs Innovation Award to a target audience of public and private stakeholders with the aim of sharing their experiences and innovation journeys with other young Africans and inspiring African youth to embrace innovative and high-growth entrepreneurship that can impact African societies and the achievement of the SDGs.

Ms. Bolaky Bineswaree, ECA Economic Affairs Officer indicated that the Africa Youth SDGs Innovation Contest was a planned deliverable of the United Nations Development Account (UNDA)13th tranche project titled “Innovative approaches for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to promote trade and inclusive industrialization in Southern Africa in the Post-COVID context”. She further indicated that the contest was a collaboration between ECA SRO-SA, Afrilabs and the organisers of the Summit, and thanked the members of the jury for their dedication, including the Embassy of Finland in Zambia. The award was open to any individual of African nationality between the ages of 18 to 35 who has designed an innovative product or process to resolve a specific development problem for society and has demonstrated an impact on the achievement of the SDGs.

The awards to the six winners were presented by Ms. Isatou Gaye, Chief, Sub-Regional Initiatives Section on behalf of Ms. Eunice Kamwendo, Director, ECA-SRO-SA, who noted that Africa needs a new breed of African entrepreneurs to allow the continent to overcome its challenges through science, technology, and innovation (STI). She further added that, “the youth bulge in Africa provides an opportunity to harness demographic dividend and bolster the role of young people in leveraging STI to accelerate progress towards SDGs; to resolve energy issues with solar powered solutions; to enhance access to medical services through telemedicine and new devices; and to use new and sustainable materials to support the expansion of markets as varied as construction, footwear, and personal hygiene.”.

The three partners, ECA, Afrilabs, and the African Youth SDG Summit, presented the winners of the African Youth SDGs Innovation to participants, media and partners, calling for a new era in Africa, driven by Science, Technology and innovation as pathways towards enhanced structural transformation and realization of the SDGs.