The UK Government, through its UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, has launched a Green Tech Programme to support 30 Nigerian female green-tech entrepreneurs with 12 weeks coaching sessions with industry experts.
Announcing the programme on Tuesday, the British Embassy in Nigeria said the coaching sessions would seek to boost the capacity of the young entrepreneurs as well as the likelihood of their enterprises to scale and become more sustainable businesses.
The Tech Hub, in collaboration with Future Females as the implementing partner, the statement said, has taken this next step as part of its pledge to help drive clean, resilient and inclusive recoveries in Nigeria – shaping the low carbon economy of the future to create new jobs, attract green investment and protect the environment for future generations.
Also, the statement said the programme targeted at Nigerian female entrepreneurs with early-stage businesses was aimed at protecting the environment and conserving natural resources using alternative technologies that are less harmful to the environment.
For three months, the statement said, the sessions would run virtually and would cover 10 actionable modules that take entrepreneurs through the fundamental building blocks of starting and growing a GreenTech business.
The British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Ben Llewellyn-Jones said: “As the world looks to build back better from the COVID 19 Pandemic, which has affected millions of lives and adversely affected economies, it is important to remember that we are still tackling an even greater crisis – climate change.
“The UK, as the host of the 2021 UN Climate Change summit is working hard in advance of COP26 to increase the level of global ambition necessary to ensure that we are on track to limit global warming to below 2 degrees.
“The UK, as a bilateral partner, is committed to supporting Nigeria in delivering an accelerated and just transition, not only to meet the climate imperative but to ensure the country is at the forefront of shifts in the global economy.
“Like the transition itself, this support is at all levels – from £200 million flowing into major clean technology programmes through International Climate Finance to entrepreneurs, to designing and developing small and micro-enterprise sustainable companies of the future.”
The UK-Nigeria Tech Hub Interim Country Director, Lamide Johnson said: “Climate Change remains a priority for the UK-Government. We are pleased to have partnered with Future Females to help and support Green Tech Female Business entreprenuers in Nigeria who are tirelessly working hard to promote the use of technology to solve problems caused by climate change, and invariably promote a greener world.”
On the GreenTech programme launch, Future Females Co-Founder, Cerina Bezuidenhout said: “At Future Females, we have always been passionate about supporting sustainable businesses, and we are very excited to be focusing on GreenTech businesses in our partnership with UK-Nigeria Tech Hub. The entrepreneurs who participate in our programmes are not just building businesses – they’re creating innovative solutions to real problems we’re facing in this ‘new’ world, and they are a source of hope for their communities – and we can’t wait to meet them.”
The programme scheduled to commence on May 24, 2021, has applications open to all interested Nigerian female green-tech entreprenuers till Friday, May 7, 2021 on https://futurefemales.typeform.com/to/hg6bBbv.9
The UK-Nigeria Tech Hub is an Initiative of the UK Government Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) established with the aim to support Nigeria’s Tech-ecosystem by promoting high-end digital skills and fostering partnerships between the UK and the Nigeria Tech-ecosystem
Future Females is a movement that exists to increase the number of and better support female entrepreneurs’ success.
Future Females has shown immense growth since its conception in August 2017 in Cape Town, currently boasting a presence in 45 locations worldwide, hosting regular events for their engaged community of over 80,000 members, and offering the Future Females Business School online training programme.
The Green Tech Programme is for Nigerian female entrepreneurs in the following businessline: generation of power through renewable energy technology, waste management collection (collection, recycling, reuse/repurpose), water management (harvesting, filtering/treatment and metering), farmer’s markets, organic produce & retail, green blogs, eco-friendly fashion, eco-friendly beauty or cleaning products, upcycling furniture, green app development, used bookstore, integrative medicine (Herbal/plant-based remedy), food plant nursery and such other industries.
