Four young innovators were awarded USD 10,000 each, at the Commonwealth start-up festival, which marked the closure of the Commonwealth Youth forum on June 21. The festival celebrates innovation, entrepreneurship, drive, and contributions of Commonwealth youth to addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Over 400 young entrepreneurs applied for the festival, and those that were selected were sponsored to pitch their innovations for cash prizes at the concluded Commonwealth Youth Forum, that happened from June 19 – 21, in Kigali, Rwanda. Among them, twelve were chosen, from which the 4 innovations emerged as the best in each category; Champions of inter-trade – export promotion, Pioneers of agricultural innovation – agricultural productivity, Green Innovation Guru – Addressing circular and climate change issues, and Digital geeks – leveraging digital technologies to address daily-life challenges. Three of the winning stratus are from Rwanda, and these are, Vuba Vuba Limited-an online food distribution platform, Afrifood Limited- that exports premium fresh produce, 1oZ training Centre-a business training centre, and Salubata Technologies which invents lifestyle technologies that help people and planet, from Nigeria. Patrick Ruhumuriza, the founder of 1oZ Training Centre said that the idea for his innovation came from his past experience of being unemployed for a long time. When the idea came up, he grabbed the opportunity and decided to create a lasting solution not only for him but for others as well. Albert Munyabugingo, the co-founder and CEO of Vuba Vuba Limited said that he is excited about the prize and grateful he emerged among winners from over 400 applicants. He expressed gratitude to his team and revealed that they are looking forward to growing the business to the other parts of the country. Yewande Adebowale, Co-founder of Salubata, said her company transforms plastic wastes into customised shoes, and that she was inspired by the global plastic waste particularly in Africa and in Lagos. “We thought of how to make shoes and it was easy for us since we had a background in environmental science. My biggest lesson is that, there is an opportunity in the challenges we see around us, and it is up to us to grab an opportunity and make solutions out of the situation.” Sakina Usengimana, the Managing Director of Afrifood limited, said her message to young people is to understand that they can do anything as long as they are willing.
