Greenovations Africa

The Greenovations project phase 1 aimed to establish a supportive framework for the green innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem across Africa by developing structures that help green enterprises grow, mature and attract significant capital. Its primary goal was to support youth and women entrepreneurs engaged in 5 green sectors (Renewable Energy, Waste Management, Climate Smart Agriculture, Climate Action and Water Management) to ideate and develop their business ideas into early-stage start-ups and scale up their enterprises.

Learn more

Greenovations Africa 2

This project connects Africa and Latin America to address the nexus of care, climate, and climate finance. The project aims to bridge unpaid care work and climate financing to empower grassroot women entrepreneurs and opportunity entrepreneurs as leaders in climate action.

The project recognizes that while women are essential drivers of grassroots climate action in sectors such as agriculture, energy, and waste management, their efforts are often hindered by systemic barriers. By bridging the gap between global climate finance frameworks and the local realities of women entrepreneurs, this project seeks to build a more inclusive, gender-just, and climate-resilient economy.

Addressing the Challenges of Women Green Entrepreneurs

Women entrepreneurs in Africa and Latin America face unique hurdles that restrict their ability to grow sustainable businesses. The project identifies several key challenges:

• Unpaid Care Responsibilities: Caregiving and household management roles often compete with income-generating activities.
• Climate Change Burdens: Environmental shifts amplify the time and effort required for resource management, further straining women’s time.
• Financial Exclusion: Current climate finance models frequently fail to account for entrepreneurs operating informally or at the community level.

Strategic Objectives

One of the core objective of Greenovations Africa 2 is to create a model that quantifies women’s environmental contributions while improving their access to vital resources. Specific objectives include:

The 5R Framework for Decent Work

To guide its efforts, the project utilizes Oxfam’s “5R Framework,” which focuses on five critical pillars to support women in the green sector:

1. Recognize women’s environmental and caregiving contributions.
2. Reduce the burden of unpaid care work.
3. Redistribute care responsibilities more equitably.
4. Reward women’s labor and environmental stewardship fairly.
5. Represent women’s interests in policy and financial decision-making.

Innovation and Expected Outcomes

Greenovations Africa 2 will deliver a suite of digital and research-based tools designed for scaling and long-term impact, including:

• Digital Platforms: Showcasing the climate contributions of women in both urban and informal rural settings.
• Research & Case Studies: Comparative reports on the entrepreneurial journeys of women across two continents.
• Policy & Advocacy Tools: Briefs and roadmaps intended to influence governments and financial institutions toward gender-responsive climate strategies.
• Knowledge Exchange: Capacity-building workshops and a platform connecting partners in Africa and Latin America.

Co-creative Gender Just Solutions

Digital platform to collect showcase and quantify evidence of grassroot and women in informal women’s positive climate action contribution:

• Incubation of 20 care solutions of opportunity women entrepreneurs
• Co-creation of 50 care solutions with grassroots rural women entrepreneurs
• Co-creation of 50 care solutions with women entrepreneurs in the informal urban settings
• Knowledge Exchange Community between Africa and Latin America on practices and solutions related to care.

Institutional Collaboration

The project is led by a consortium of experts from the United Nations University Vice Rectorate in Europe (UNU-VIE), in partnership with Fundación Avina, the UNFCCC, the Women Entrepreneurship Access Centre (WEAC), and the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC). This initiative is made possible through funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).