Youth SME scoops P1.3m COP27 award
Alocal entrepreneur, Mmakwena Moesi, has scooped a $100,000 (P1.3 million) grant, as part of 20 African youth-led enterprises that were collectively awarded $2 million (P25.8 million) at the just-ended global climate summit in Egypt.
The companies won grant funding of up to $100,000 each as part of the African Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge competition. In addition to the grant, each winner benefits from a 12-month accelerator programme to help them grow their businesses, deepen their impact and create decent jobs.
Moesi’s company, Viva Organica, manufactures biofertilisers from organic waste to support the resilience of farming communities in growing organic and nutrient-dense crops that can withstand recurring drought seasons, heatwaves and erratic rainfall in Botswana. Its flagship products are Vermogro and BioBrew, a granular and liquid organic fertiliser.
Vermogro is a 100% natural, safe, odourless, and eco-friendly organic granular fertiliser for use in all crops while BioBrew is a liquid biostimulant and organic fertiliser made from enriched comtea post brewed with premium worm castings,
plant extracts and beneficial microbes that stimulate plant growth and reduce transplant shock.
In an interview, Moesi told BusinessWeek she will use the grant to expand the company’s product line, boost working capital to meet annual production targets and gain entry into new domestic and global markets.
“We aim to lead in locally produced biological and organic farming inputs that support farming communities in adopting sustainable and organic food production systems that mitigate climate change while simultaneously increasing the adaptative efforts to existing climate conditions,” she said.
The entrepreneur added she heard about the competition a few days before its deadline.
“I heard about the competition four days before the deadline from my business coach during an export training programme I attended through the Natural Products Association Botswana.
“I then followed the link which led me to the African Youth Adaptation Solutions challenge webpage and I applied online,” she said.
Programme organisers received 3,000 applications for this year’s competition from across the continent and the top 50 were shortlisted to pitch their innovations before a jury.
The competition invited young entrepreneurs and SMEs in Africa to submit innovative solutions and business ideas that can drive climate change adaptation and resilience.