Irena NewGen Renewable Energy Accelerator
IRENA, supported by the United Arab Emirates, has established the NewGen Renewable Energy Accelerator (NewGen) programme to empower youth to be active participants in the energy transition. NewGen supports the development and implementation of youth-led solutions in the climate and sustainable energy sectors by acting as a global showcase for youth-led innovation.
The initiative has been established by IRENA in collaboration with Social Alpha, a non-profit organisation based in India that supports social start-ups, and Enel Foundation, a global non-profit organisation focused on supporting the development of studies and research mainly in the energy field. As knowledge partners, Social Alpha and Enel Foundation will provide technical expertise and mentorship to help young entrepreneurs and innovators succeed.
The goal of the programme is to provide youth with the tools, knowledge, and support needed to develop and implement their ideas. Youth-led start-ups, scale-ups, and growth businesses now can be supported by IRENA to foster their growth and business acceleration.
IRENA will collaborate closely with its partners to provide successful participants with access to funding opportunities, business networks, and other resources to help them bring their ideas to market. Additionally, in the road to COP 28 IRENA will launch the IRENA Youth Award to recognize the best solutions developed through the Accelerator Programme and provide winners with further support to scale up their ideas and solutions.
The programme comprises of a series of training, mentoring, and knowledge-sharing activities, along with market/investor linkages designed to scale business impact, boost youth climate/sustainable energy impact, and help them secure investments to implement their business plans and solutions. NewGen Renewable Energy Accelerator participants will benefit from:
- Webinars, workshops, and dedicated mentorship by IRENA experts
- Access to pitching events and investment matchmaking
- Dedicated Climate Impact forecasting workshop
- Tailored acceleration program in renewable energy and climate technology
The first edition of the IRENA NewGen Renewable Energy Accelerator programme will receive applications to select a maximum of 30 youth innovators and entrepreneurs who are motivated to engage with the renewable energy and climate technology markets through ideas, solutions, or novel innovations in their respective local, regional, or global communities.
Eligibility
Youth-led start-ups, scale-ups, and growth businesses now can be supported by IRENA to foster their growth and business acceleration.
Eligible candidates must meet the following criteria:
- Call for applications is open to young people between 18 and 35 years old from all over the world.
- At least one founder of the start-up must be between 18 and 35 years old.
- Start-up main business line should be in the following categories:
- Renewable Energy technologies (solar, wind, hydropower, green hydrogen, geothermal and bio energy)
- Climate adaption technologies (water, agriculture, livestock, extreme weather events, early warning system)
- Climate Mitigation technologies (transportation, decarbonization, circular economy, energy efficiency, energy transformation and smart grids)
- Carbon Markets (carbon trading, carbon measurement, carbon credits and carbon offsetting)
- At least two of the start-up founders are committed by 16 hrs each month for attending the accelerator sessions.
- By entering the selection process, participants guarantee that the submitted documentation is an original work created solely by the applicants and that it does not infringe on copyrights, trademarks and the rights of privacy, publicity, or intellectual property rights of any person or entity.
Applications now open
Join this hybrid acceleration program to work closely with renewable energy and business experts to consolidate your business model, widen your customer base and enhance your investment readiness.
Deadline for applications:
– First cut-off date: 9th June 2023 – 23:59 GST (Abu Dhabi Time)
– Second cut-off date: 8th July 2023 – 23:59 GST (Abu Dhabi Time)
NewGen Renewable Energy Accelerator participants will be announced on 21 July 2023.
In case of further questions, contact youth@irena.org.
