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

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Mentor-Innovator Duo

John Doe & Francis Osei

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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

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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.

Agri-Tech Innovator

Kwame Mensah

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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.