Applications have opened for Cohort 2 of the Young Africa Innovates (YAI) Programme, a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Mastercard Foundation aimed at identifying, incubating and scaling youth-led innovations addressing socio-economic challenges in Nigeria.

The 2026–2027 cohort will be implemented across seven states. Successful applicants will have access to capacity building, intensive bootcamp training, incubation assistance, mentorship, financial support and opportunities to connect with markets.

Young Africa Innovates is focused on discovering and supporting young Nigerians developing solutions to pressing challenges within their communities. The programme is structured to help promising innovations progress from concept to market by providing the technical assistance and resources needed to test, validate and scale them.

For Cohort 2, the programme aims to identify 10,000 innovations, provide capacity-building support to 1,500 innovators and incubate 400 ventures with technical and financial assistance. It also has targets of 80% participation by women and 10% participation by persons with disabilities.

Applicants must be between 18 and 35 years old at the time of application and must reside in one of the seven participating states. They must also have an innovation or solution that addresses a specific challenge in their state. The programme is sector-agnostic, meaning applicants can come from any sector.

Young Africa Innovates is particularly encouraging applications from women, persons with disabilities, rural innovators and people from underserved or marginalised communities.

The seven states participating in Cohort 2 are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Katsina, Niger, Plateau and Taraba. Applicants are required to be residents of one of these states.

Beyond meeting the eligibility criteria, submissions will be assessed on several factors, including the potential to create jobs, the applicant’s lived experience of the problem being addressed, the viability of the proposed for-profit business model, proof of concept, scalability, readiness to participate in co-creation and potential community impact.

Selected innovators will move through a structured support pathway. Capacity-building activities will help participants strengthen their solutions, business models and ability to respond to real-world challenges.

Shortlisted innovators will then take part in an intensive, in-state bootcamp designed to refine the problem they are addressing, their business model and their pitch.

During the incubation stage, selected ventures will receive hands-on technical assistance, mentorship and resources aimed at helping them develop solutions for real customers and markets. Financial assistance will also be provided through grants to selected innovators and ventures during incubation.

At the market-access stage, graduating ventures will be connected with markets, capital and partners to support expansion beyond their respective states. Participants will also receive guidance from facilitators and mentors throughout the programme.

The Young Africa Innovates model is built around five pillars: ecosystem activation, pipeline activation, bootcamp, incubation and market access.

Ecosystem activation involves engaging state-level stakeholders to establish an enabling environment for young innovators. Pipeline activation uses community-based scouting and applications to identify solutions emerging from different communities.

The bootcamp provides intensive training to strengthen the identified problem, business model and pitch, while incubation gives selected ventures technical support, mentorship and resources. Through market access, graduating ventures are linked with markets, capital and partners to support further growth.

The application process is scheduled to run from August to September 2026, followed by the bootcamp from September to October 2026. Incubation is scheduled for November 2026 through January 2027.

The official programme currently identifies the application window as August–September 2026 and does not specify a particular closing date.

Interested innovators can submit applications through the official Young Africa Innovates application portal.

Source: MSME Africa Online