Empowering Youth Innovators to Build the Future

Youth Innovation Circles (YIC) – Transforming Ideas into Impact Through Mentorship, Maker Spaces, and Opportunities

About YIC

Youth Innovation Circles (YIC) is part of the Youth Africa Innovates (YAI) programme, an initiative led by Mastercard Foundation and implemented by UNDP and hapaSpace. YIC supports young innovators across Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, and Western regions in Ghana. We provide tailored mentorship, collaborative workshops, state-of-the-art maker spaces, and opportunities to pitch to investors. Whether you’re starting out or scaling up, YIC equips you to bring your ideas to life.

Maker Spaces

Access fully equipped maker spaces with tools like 3D printers, CNC machines, and more.

Mentorship

One-to-one mentorship with industry experts to guide you through your innovation journey

Workshops

Skill-building sessions, peer learning, and opportunities to connect with fellow innovators.

Investor Pitch Days

Present your ideas at Pitch Days & Demo Nights to secure funding and partnerships.

Meet Our Change-Makers

Mentor-Innovator Duo

John Doe & Francis Osei

Collaboration Success Story

Francis’s innovative mobile app for health monitoring gained traction under the mentorship of John Doe, who guided him in refining his financial strategy and securing funding. Their collaboration showcased the power of YIC’s mentorship programme.

Social Entrepreneur

Akosua Yeboah

Community-Centric Solutions

Akosua’s initiative to create eco-friendly packaging faced challenges in production scalability. YIC provided her with access to Maker Spaces and industry mentors, helping her optimise her process and secure partnerships with local businesses.

Green Innovator

Daniel Obeng

Renewable Energy Pioneer

Daniel’s innovative solar-powered irrigation system was just an idea when he joined YIC. The Maker Spaces equipped him with tools to build a working model, and mentorship sessions refined his business plan, attracting investors during Demo Nights.

Tech Entrepreneur

Ama Serwaa

Empowering Women in Tech

Ama, a software developer, struggled to find support for her AI-powered education platform. YIC connected her with industry mentors and provided access to critical resources, helping her launch her platform in schools across the Ashanti Region.

Agri-Tech Innovator

Kwame Mensah

Transforming Ideas into Reality

Kwame started with a simple idea to enhance crop monitoring in Ghana. Through YIC’s Maker Spaces, mentorship, and funding opportunities, he developed a functional prototype of his agri-tech device, now being piloted in three regions.