2022 end-of-year message to EBAFOSA #InnovativeVolunteerism actors

“A Person Is a Person Because of Other People”.

This African proverb analogizes the essence of Innovative Volunteerism manifested throughout 2022 - “symbiosis”.

No one ever gets ahead by ignoring their core strength. Africa’s powerhouse is her youth, who form up to 60% of the continent’s population, and the informal sector, which engages over 80% of Africa’s active population.

Through Innovative Volunteerism, we have seen the youth guided to engage with the informal sector collaboratively, and together, they have shown the power of symbiosis. They have demonstrated the inherent potential of tapping into Africa’s powerhouse to address three of the leading planetary crises of our time – biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution. They have done so in style by turning these challenges into enterprise opportunities that go a long way to put more money in more pockets.

From Uganda in the Eastern part of Africa. To Cameroon in the Central part of the continent. To Nigeria in the Western part and Botswana in the Southern part of Africa, Innovative Volunteerism actors have engaged with passion and devised environmental solutions that turn challenges into opportunities for the many.

In Uganda, young people were structurally guided to develop and decentralize climate action solutions of solar dryers to agro-value chain actors to enable them to add value and increase the shelf life of their perishables. As a result, postharvest losses were reduced by 85%, and incomes increased to 3.8 times for both women and men. This solution enhanced gender inclusion, with women increasing their savings by up to 50%, while young people maintaining the solar dryers earned up to $141 in just three months. In combating pollution, the young people were structurally guided to recover agricultural waste and convert it into clean cooking fuel briquettes that are up to 2 times cheaper than charcoal to substitute charcoal and lower indoor pollution.

Charcoal worth over $1,500 was displaced, and over 800 families shifted from charcoal to fuel briquettes in 3 short months. Considering that women produce most of the food in Africa, including in Uganda, up to 74% of beneficiaries of training on the application of nature-based approaches that revitalize our soils, protect our water towers, and enhance our pollinators, among key benefits, were women.

This is highly strategic because it entrusts the task of protecting and enhancing the ecological base of producing our food to the largest user constituency – our mothers, aunties, and sisters in rural Africa.

?In Nigeria, young people were guided to turn waste into fuel briquettes, resulting in up to 90% of beneficiaries being women. Women are the highest risk group from indoor pollution, killing up to 700,000 people across Africa.

Innovative Volunteerism actors in Nigeria have led the way in shining the light of solutions. Switching from charcoal to these fuel briquettes has seen average weekly savings increase by $32.

Young people have equally engaged in developing and decentralizing solar dryers to processors of garri –a key staple in Nigeria. Solar dryers have seen better-quality product that earns $6-$11 more per kilo in the markets.

In Cameroon, nature solutions in developing and marketing nature-based inputs of biofertilizers and biopesticides have seen the total land area under nature-based solutions increase by 920 hectares in less than a year. Application of solar dryers has seen postharvest losses reduce from 90% of initial product to less than 5% in just one year, and the shelf-life of perishables increase by 50%. The use of digital tools has enabled efficient, low-cost market linkages that enhance earnings. As a result, savings and membership in local cooperatives have also increased, with 2000 more women and 200 youth able to save enough and join local cooperatives.

In addition, a new model of symbiosis based on in-kind contributions has been demonstrated in Cameroon. Specifically, young people have been guided to provide technical skills while community members are providing unskilled labour and material and together, they have set up a 20 cubic metre biodigester. The gas and biofertilizer continue to be harvested for community use and sale. Proceeds from these sales are invested in a community cooperative to expand and build more biodigesters.

Most importantly, these actions have tapped into critical enablers of sustainability and expansion. They have tapped into communal cooperatives as innovative financing tools to de-risk savings and investment in these climate action solutions at the community level. They have tapped into local governance structures to encourage more community members’ lobbying for environmental enterprise actions. More importantly, data in successes has bridged science-policy gaps to inform practical policy implementation pathways that are critical to enabling further expansion of these solutions.

For example, in Uganda, data on the efficacy of solar dryers have informed the development of a solar dryer standard that is a critical incentive to expand enterprise actions in developing solar dryers. In Cameroon, data-informed implementation pathways of revised climate commitments seek to increase investment in biodigesters by 5-10%. In Nigeria, data has informed the entrepreneurship curriculum to enable the training of future entrepreneurs in environment action entrepreneurship.

An inaugural class of over 30 learners is already underway, and a new centre to ensure continued learning has been set up at the Nasarawa State University at Keffi. In Botswana, a similar development has occurred with the setting up of an environmental entrepreneurship training centre hosted at the Ba Isago University.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, all this has not been a smooth journey. It has taken the resolve of these Innovative Volunteerism actors to learn from every failure instead of being discouraged and quitting. It has taken fortitude to remain on the course under numerous discouragements. It has taken selflessness to put solutions above their comfort.

Just as “he who learns, teaches”, splendid examples will shine through all corners of the world to light more torches of solutions. I encourage you to listen today and not miss the opportunity to tap into these solutions’ torches.

Together we can make a positive difference by putting poverty on the run and prosperity into the cockpit of progress. I thank you.