Participants entering the World Bank Youth Innovation Challenge will:

• Sharpen your entrepreneurial skills in pitching to investors, developing your business plan, honing product-market fit, growing a thriving team, early stage fundraising, scaling from lab to market, and more. 
• Improve business plans and pitch scalable solutions to water tech CEOs, VCs, and other impact investors 
• Receive market feedback from water and sanitation utilities, irrigation operators, and other end users. 
• Network with a global community of successful entrepreneurs , water experts, investors and other innovators. 
• Access a 6-month Accelerator Program that provides one on one mentoring by successful Water tech CEOs (winners only). 

The World Bank and partners invite all interested and eligible youth aquapreneurs (age 18-35) to apply by February 23, 2024, with innovative solutions tackling one or more of four global water challenges:

• Too much water
• Too little water
• Contaminated water
• Mismanaged water

The Challenge launched at CoP28 on December 8th, 2023, and will run through October 2024. It is a joint initiative of the World Bank’s Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE) and Water Global Practice’s Utility of the Future Program who are joined by innovative partners including: 

• CEO Champions from Water-Tech Companies: 3R Water, Acquacycl, Pani Energy, CANN Forecast, Desolenator, Kai Pono Solutions, Kilimo, Nitrogen Sensing Solutions, Oneka, NatureDots. Permalution, Xylem
• Outreach and Learning Partners: Mazarine Ventures, Microsoft Philanthropies, Ripple2Wave, Sustainable Oceans Alliance, Youth Business International, World YMCA 

Join the youth group to stay updated and grow the community: https://connect.newibnet.org/young-water-professionals/