Young Water Solutions is an international nonprofit organization aiming to develop and support. The potential of young people to contribute to universal water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and water resources management. They do so by empowering young leaders, providing them the tools to carry out water projects in their communities. they promote an integrated approach, through our projects they often address interlinked challenges. Further,  such as climate change adaptation, reforestation, youth unemployment, and food security.
The Young Water Fellowship is our flagship programme, and it aims to empower young leaders from low and middle income countries to set up social businesses that tackle water, sanitation & hygiene (WASH), water pollution and water scarcity issues, by offering them an intensive training incubation programme in business & WASH, seed funding grants for their pilot projects, and mentoring support by senior-level experts during one year.

Benefits

The 10 Selected Young Water Fellows will:

• Get an invitation to participate in a fully-funded Start-up training in Uganda.  The training is delivered by a partner organization, cewas, a Swiss water start-up incubator that since 2011 trains entrepreneurs. The 10-days training will be held from November 12th to 22nd. Also, will help Fellows improve their business models. It finishes with the Pitching Night, an event where Fellows have the opportunity to pitch their initiatives to decision-makers, East African stakeholders, and investors.
• Similarly, receive coaching and mentorship for a year
• Have the opportunity to apply for seed funding (up to €5000 for their pilot projects)
• Be part of the YWF Alumni community

Eligibility

• Be 18 to 30 years old at the time of the application
• Be the founder or co-founder of an initiative that contributes to the solution of a well-defined problem. The initiative should be in its initial stages and have the ability to be turned into a social enterprise. (i.e have a long-term sustainability component or business model).
• Likewise, Be a citizen and resident from one of these countries: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda
• Have a valid passport and be available to attend the workshop in Uganda the dates it will be held (November 12th-22nd, 2019)
• Further, all training costs are by the organization (flights, transportation, accommodation, meals), but participants must cover their visa expenses and transport costs to the closest international airport in their country of residence.
• Be able to communicate in English (intermediate level at least).