Recording of the first day of the online AEIP workshop “Social Innovation Lab: Solving SDGs Through Youth Entrepreneurship” (7 October 2026).

The Africa-Europe Innovation Platform (AEIP), through The Youth Cafe, in collaboration with Youth Ideation, Inspiration and Impact (YI3), is hosting the Social Innovation Lab, a two-day co-creation online workshop bringing together young entrepreneurs, innovators, youth-led startups, and SMEs from across Africa and Europe. The Lab will explore how youth-led social innovation can advance SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), with a deliberate focus on young women entrepreneurs and inclusive innovation ecosystems.

Overview

The first day of “Social Innovation Lab – Solving SDGs Through Youth Entrepreneurship” explores how youth-led innovation can advance Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality and Goal 9 on Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.

Bringing together experts, youth organisations and entrepreneurs from Africa and Europe, the session examines barriers that limit young people’s participation in innovation. These include gaps in finance, skills, mentorship, infrastructure and market access, alongside gender bias and concerns about safe participation.

Through practical examples involving AI education for women and girls and accessible gender-based violence reporting services, the workshop illustrates how social innovation can respond to community needs. It emphasises inclusive design, evidence-based decisions and sustainable organisational models as foundations for turning ideas into lasting social impact.

What You Will Learn

The workshop covers:

• Youth entrepreneurship and the SDGs: understanding how youth-led enterprises can connect gender equality with inclusive innovation, infrastructure and economic opportunities.
• Barriers within entrepreneurship ecosystems: identifying how limited finance, training, mentorship, networks and market access affect young innovators’ ability to develop and sustain their ideas.
• Gender-responsive innovation: considering who participates, whose problems are addressed, who owns solutions and who benefits throughout the innovation process.
• Inclusive youth participation: adapting support to the needs of young women, youth with disabilities and other marginalised groups through accessible resources and meaningful opportunities to contribute.
• Safe and accessible programmes: addressing connectivity, language, digital literacy and safety concerns when designing entrepreneurship training and support.
• Innovation beyond technology: recognising new services, processes, financing approaches and business models as practical ways to solve social and economic problems.
• Problem validation and community needs: treating an initial idea as a hypothesis and gathering evidence from intended users before committing to a solution.
• AI education and digital empowerment: exploring how context-sensitive training and mentorship can help women and girls develop technologies that respond to local challenges.
• Technology for social support: examining how confidential reporting tools and accessible channels, including USSD, can help connect vulnerable groups with service providers.
• Sustainable enterprise development: planning costs, responsibilities, organisational systems and appropriate funding sources to support continuity beyond initial grants.
• Evidence and impact measurement: using data and feedback to refine solutions and assess changes in people’s lives, beyond counting activities or participants.
• Mentorship, networks and co-creation: building relationships and working with communities, peers and ecosystem partners to strengthen ideas and develop practical implementation plans.

Key Takeaway

Youth-led social innovation starts with a clear understanding of community needs and the barriers preventing people from accessing opportunities. Advancing gender equality and inclusive innovation requires young people—particularly those facing exclusion—to help shape solutions from the outset.

Turning ideas into sustainable enterprises also requires validation, practical skills, strong organisational systems and realistic funding plans. By combining inclusive design with mentorship, collaboration and continuous learning, young entrepreneurs can develop solutions that create lasting value for their communities.