Deadline: June 21, 2026
Applications are invited for the second cohort of the wAtt-boost: Youth Powered Start Up in Africa. Africa’s path to a sustainable and prosperous future hinges on the innovative ideas of its youth. By empowering young talents, innovators, entrepreneurs, and start-ups, we can turn the deployment of renewables, universal access to energy and the energy transition at large into a reality.
To achieve this vision, with the in-kind contribution of RES4Africa Foundation (R4A), and Strathmore University, Enel Foundation is launching the Open Call for the second edition of wAtt-boost: Youth Powered Start Up in Africa. This initiative offers a tailored training program for startups and entrepreneurs in the renewable energy sector in Africa.
wAtt-boost aims to nurture and expand renewable energy-focused businesses within Africa’s startup ecosystem. They support both emerging and established entrepreneurs in the African renewable energy sector, helping them develop and grow their enterprises.
The Training is composed of two modules:
- Specific lectures from the NewGen Renewable Energy Accelerator, a program owned and carried out by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) with the support of EF, scheduled between June and July 2026;
- An ad-hoc training module run by RES4Africa addressing the peculiarities of the evolving African electricity markets.
Benefits
- As a key component of the wAtt-boost program, participants will have the possibility to compete for two awards of 10,000 Euros each. This dedicated fund is designed to provide crucial financial support to the most promising entrepreneurs and startups that demonstrate significant potential and growth prospects by the conclusion of the program.
Eligibility
- Entrepreneurs must be between 18 and 35 years old;
- The solution should address the African market;
- Ownership: either the entrepreneur must possess African citizenship or the startup must be registered in Africa;
- The startup must be registered for at least 1 year and operate in the renewable energy and electrification realm (among the others, potential domains may include, but are not limited to, artificial intelligence (AI), grids and infrastructure, climate adaptation and mitigation, clean cooking, electric mobility, agrivoltaics,…);
- The entrepreneur must have proficiency in English, demonstrated by either being a native speaker, holding a CAE (Certificate in Advanced English), or having a degree completely taught in English.
Application
The deadline for the submission of the application form is June 21, 2026 – 23:59 Central European Time. Any application received after the deadline will be automatically rejected.
For more information, visit wAtt-boost: Youth Powered Start Up in Africa.
