The year 2022 has been marked by deliberate efforts towards gaining valuable knowledge in
environmental sustainability and social ventures in our communities and around the world.
It has been a difficult year with few opportunities that broadened my appreciation of leadership
and climate action.
Among the few was the Canada-Africa Innovation Fellowship by the Engineers Without Borders Canada.
The six-month fellowship which happened to be the second cohort was a great virtual opportunity for young people to develop sustainable solutions to global challenges.
The 2022 Edition was extended to feature Ghanaian students and recent graduates, who joined fellows from Canada and Uganda totaling 28 fellows for the sixteen weeks of learning, extensive brainstorming, and developmental collaborations with specialized focus on climate change and green solutions.
With sessions covering Contextual Innovation, Situational Analysis, Problems Tree, System Mapping, Environment Analysis, Impact Hypotheses, Social Venture and Value Proposition Canvas, Supply Chain & Partnerships, Financial Modeling, Marketing and other enlightening topics, the fellowship empowered us to design practical solutions to the many challenges facing the environment.
The culmination saw a pitch event from eight teams with original entrepreneurial ideas from recycling, to sustainable access to clean water and energy solutions.
Together with my team at “Filter-in”, we worked and continue to develop a venture on addressing the water crisis in First Nations communities in Canada with the vision of expanding to indigenous communities in Sub-Saharan Africa, through an affordable and accessible water filtration system that can remove dirt, microbes and smell from water.
CAIF 2022 was a trailblazing experience with valuable exposure to enormous opportunities for young change makers working to promote environmental sustainability, while solving issues on poverty and inequality.
Special thanks to the Engineers Without Borders – Canada and the United Social Ventures.
