NAIROBI, Kenya, May 5 — The Intergovernmental Authority on Development(IGAD) is seeking to engage thousands of young climate innovators across Eastern Africa through a newly launched regional youth coalition.
The initiative aims to scale up youth-led solutions, strengthen national networks, and expand participation beyond an initial pool of 30 innovators.
Organisers plan to achieve this through a competitive membership drive designed to reach a far broader pool of young people.
The coalition, spearheaded by IGAD through its climate arm, is intended to unify youth voices working on climate action and climate-resilient agri-food systems, while unlocking opportunities for funding and policy influence.
Speaking at the launch, Charity Mumbua, a Food Security Specialist at the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) and lead of the youth component, said the initiative is designed to move beyond fragmented youth efforts into a coordinated regional force.
“This coalition aims to bring together youth working on climate and climate-resilient agri-food systems across IGAD member states. We hope to consolidate their voices to increase their impact on policy,” she said.
The coalition begins with about 30 youth representatives drawn from IGAD member states, but organisers say this is only the foundation of a much larger network.
“These representatives already have peers and networks in their respective countries, including national youth councils. Through them, we expect to reach many more young people,” Mumbua added.
A formal membership registration is expected to open soon, targeting youth aged 18 to 35 working in climate innovation and agriculture.
Entry into the coalition will be competitive, with selection based on the strength and impact of applicants’ solutions.
The long-term goal is to build a critical mass of youth innovators capable of influencing policy, scaling solutions, and advancing climate-resilient agriculture across the region.
Tackling funding barriers
A central focus of the coalition is addressing limited access to funding, which is one of the biggest challenges facing youth-led climate initiatives.
“Young people have strong ideas, but scaling them remains a challenge due to limited resources,” Mumbua said.
The initiative has already secured $1.1 million in support from the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), with about $500,000 disbursed so far under a milestone-based funding model.
However, officials acknowledge that the funding gap remains significant.
“The funding gap or need is quite huge, but all we can do is make efforts going forward, leverage the funding that we have from AGRA and see if we can get more resources from other partners,” she said.
In addition to financing, the coalition will provide mentorship, business development support, and capacity-building to help youth-led initiatives transition from small-scale projects into impactful enterprises.
The platform is expected to connect young innovators with technical experts, investors, and policymakers, creating an ecosystem that supports long-term growth.
A key ambition is to ensure that youth perspectives are reflected in climate and agricultural policies across the IGAD region in the fes years to come.
“Some of the things that we are looking to is of course seeing that the policies that we are coming up are really shaped by youth perspectives,”Mumbua said.
“We feel like as much as the youth are doing so much, it’s not all the time that their ideas, their perspectives, their challenges are reflected in some of the policies that we have and we are hoping to see policies that actually have a youth angle.”
By consolidating voices at a regional level, the coalition aims to give young people a stronger seat at decision-making tables.
Membership will prioritise those working at the intersection of climate and agriculture, reflecting the region’s reliance on rain-fed farming and its vulnerability to climate shocks.
Applicants will be assessed based on the quality of their solutions and their contributions to transforming agricultural systems.
Ultimately, the coalition seeks to turn promising grassroots innovations into scalable regional solutions.
“We are hoping to see initiatives that have been scaled up through the support that we are offering and through the work of this coalition,” Mumbua said.
With climate impacts intensifying across Eastern Africa, stakeholders say the success of the initiative will depend on how effectively it expands its reach, bridges funding gaps, and translates youth innovation into tangible policy and economic outcomes.