Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in partnership with the National Gender Equality Commission and the Nairobi County Government in Kenya and implementing partners, GrowthAfrica, are proud to announce the launch of the \u2018InnoVate Against GBV\u2019 Business Plan Contest.<\/p>\n
This innovative contest aims to address the pervasive issue of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Kenya by harnessing the power of entrepreneurship to develop sustainable business solutions.<\/p>\n
Despite ongoing efforts, GBV remains a deeply entrenched issue in Kenya, affecting millions of women and girls. The 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey shows that 43% of women and 29% of men aged 15 and above have experienced physical violence, while 13% of women and 5% of men have faced sexual violence.<\/p>\n
The social and economic impacts are significant, with devastating effects on individuals, families, and communities, and resulting in an estimated economic loss of KES 46 billion annually, according to a study carried out in 2016, by the National Gender and Equality Commission titled, \u201cGender-Based Violence in Kenya: The Economic Burden on Survivors\u201d.<\/p>\n
In response to this urgent challenge, the \u2018InnoVate Against GBV\u2019 contest seeks to mobilise the private sector to create innovative and scalable solutions that directly tackle GBV and contribute to a safer, more equitable society for all.<\/p>\n
The call for applications for innovative entrepreneurs \u2014 both men and women \u2014 who are committed to developing business ideas focused on preventing and eliminating GBV in Kenya are open. Selected start-ups will receive 6 weeks comprehensive support, including mentorship, networking opportunities, and access to investors, to help them bring their innovative ideas to life.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Business Contest which we are calling \u2018InnoVate Against GBV\u2019 is a crucial entrepreneur support initiative to advocate for social change. Our mission at JICA is to advocate for human security and quality growth through different activities. We are delighted to organize this \u2018InnoVate Against GBV\u2019 Contest to bring our mission to life. Our hope is to see more initiatives supported to help curb this challenge,\u201d said Kenji Hayashi, senior representative of JICA Kenya office.<\/p>\n
The start-up ecosystem in Kenya has shown immense potential for driving social change. However, there is a critical need for focused efforts to address GBV through entrepreneurial innovation. The \u2018InnoVate Against GBV\u2019 contest is designed to bridge this gap by encouraging and supporting start-ups with the potential to make a meaningful impact.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe InnoVate Against GBV contest will provide entrepreneurs \u2013 those with a business idea, and early stage businesses \u2013 with access to mentorship to help build their businesses into thriving successful ventures. Entrepreneurs are the essence of Africa\u2019s future. We are excited to journey with the selected cohort and be part of the change makers,\u2019 said Patricia Jumi, Managing Director, GrowthAfrica.<\/p>\n
In Kenya, JICA is currently implementing two key technical cooperation projects: one aimed at enhancing actions and service deliveries to address Gender based Violence at County Level, another focused on promoting an ecosystem that supports SMEs and start-ups. The \u2018InnoVate Against GBV\u2019 Business Plan Contest, part of these projects, is designed to drive impactful societal change while fostering collaboration among the private and public sectors, as well as advocates, to advance gender equality and women\u2019s empowerment across Kenya.<\/p>\n
The post Innovative contest launches to combat gender-based violence through entrepreneurship<\/a> first appeared on KBC<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in partnership with the National Gender Equality Commission and the Nairobi County Government in Kenya and implementing partners, GrowthAfrica, are proud to announce the launch of the \u2018InnoVate Against GBV\u2019 Business Plan Contest. This innovative contest aims to address the pervasive issue of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Kenya by harnessing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83427\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}