On October 31, 2023, as a part of a 4-day visit to Kenya, King Charles III met with twenty students and 4 teachers coming from rural Turkana and Samburu Counties of Kenya. The purpose of the visit was to meet with students, who are young innovators, who have participated in the Prince’s Trust International Enterprise Challenge Competition.

Since 2019, Asante Africa Foundation has partnered with Prince’s Trust International as the East Africa partner bringing the Enterprise Challenge programme, including the ‘Pop-Up’ business simulation game, to young people in rural secondary schools across Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The twenty secondary school students have been in Asante Africa Foundation’s Youth Livelihood program that include three main interventions; Leadership and Entrepreneurships Incubators (LEI) Clubs, the Enterprise Challenge and Grow Your Business. The programme provides an opportunity for students to learn entrepreneurship and leadership skills and put their knowledge into practice with hands-on projects and small income generating initiatives, applying the theory they have gained in the business simulation game.

During the visit, the students were able to present their knowledge and innovations to The King including innovations for a green economy, agro-innovation, and in the digital frontier. Their hybrid approach leverages modern technologies with local resources and indigenous knowledge ensuring sustainable local solutions to global issues. 

This showcase event is also a part of Asante Africa Foundation’s inaugural, ‘Youth Impact Week’, aimed at spotlighting initiatives by our youth innovators from rural Northern Kenya, specifically, Samburu and Turkana. 

“Despite the demonstration of resilience, creativity, and passion for change, the voices of rural youth are often underrepresented in national and regional youth engagement interventions’ ‘ said Erna Grasz, CEO. “Historically, there has been limited investment and partnerships to accelerate or amplify their innovations further deepening social inequalities, leaving many of these young talented and ambitious youth behind.  To shift this norm, collectively we are elevating  rural youth to be  recognized as  global change makers.”

We are appreciative of Prince’s Trust International like-minded approach and shining the spotlight on rural youths and their innovations.”

Founded by His Majesty King Charles III, the former Prince of Wales, Prince’s Trust International supports young people across 18 countries across the Commonwealth and beyond through employment, education and enterprise programmes.

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About Asante Africa Foundation

Asante Africa Foundation is a global alliance of 4 member organizations (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and USA). We share one mission: to educate and empower rural East Africa’s youth to confidently address life’s challenges, thrive in the global economy, and catalyse positive change. Rooted in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Goals #4, #5 and #8), Asante Africa achieves results through a set of interlinked programs designed to alleviate poverty by fostering academics, gender equity, life and livelihood skills, work-life, and business enterprise skills, all while harnessing the power of technology. Youth develop the cognitive skills, decision-making capacity, and leadership qualities to pioneer the way forward creating a better future in a post-pandemic era for themselves, Africa, and the world.

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