LocationsYouth for sustainability: Young changemakers driving Egypt’s green future
August 12, 2025
Youth part of the Youth for Sustainability (Y4S) Programme.
Youth 4 Sustainability (Y4S) is a flagship youth track under the Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator Program (GGJAP), designed to empower young people to drive green growth, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development. It operates through two main tracks: first, supporting youth-led initiatives to be adopted by SMEs or formalized as legal startups; and second, providing targeted capacity-building for youth in partnership with Creativa – KAAF Service Provider. In parallel, Y4S matches youth with SMEs participating in GGJAP, fostering practical collaboration and market access. All Y4S initiatives are implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, our main governmental partner, ensuring strong institutional backing and nationwide reach.
When Reem El-Khouli joined the Youth for Sustainability (Y4S) programme, she wasn’t sure how to turn her passion for education into a concrete initiative. Just months later, she found herself pitching NextGen — an interactive learning startup she co-founded — to national and international partners at UNDP Egypt’s Annual Green Growth Conference.
Reem El Khouli pitching at UNDP’s Green Growth Conference. Photo: UNDP.
Reem is one of 23 bright young Egyptians from across the country who took part in Y4S, a pioneering initiative that empowers youth to lead, innovate, and turn their ideas into real solutions in their communities. With mentorship, training, and funding, the first cohort launched five impressive, youth-led initiatives tackling environmental and social challenges head-on.
Among them:
- Sky Farm: Introducing solar-powered hydroponic farming in high-humidity areas.
- Agriwave: Transforming agricultural waste into biofuels and silica; a material used in glass, construction, and other industries.
- Beat Plastic: Developing innovative plastic recycling for medical applications.
- ReCloset: Promoting sustainable fashion and inclusive employment opportunities.
- NextGen: Offering interactive educational tools tailored for today’s learners.
“Y4S gave us the right ecosystem to grow — we learned how to turn our idea into something real, something that could help others,” shares Reem.
Through GGJAP, the initiative provided capacity-building workshops and connected participants with local SMEs. This led to 13 of them securing meaningful internships in fields like environmental management, community engagement, and sustainable development — with some joining prominent organizations like GIZ.
“Youth for Sustainability integrated me into Egypt’s SME ecosystem which fueled my passion for entrepreneurship and led me to Lantern Ventures, where I now support Shark Tank Egypt investments in startups and SMEs. GGJAP empowered that growth and gave me the opportunity to discover and pursue my passion,” says Youssef Amr, Y4S ambassador.
Youssef Amr during a mentoring session with Youth for Sustainability.
Y4S participants are also making waves beyond Egypt. One ambassador – Mohamed Zyad – recently represented the cohort at the Cybersecurity Geneva Week at the UN Headquarters, “As a young delegate in Geneva, I may have seemed small in the room, but my voice carried the hopes of many. Youth advocacy is not about age: it’s about the courage to speak for justice, dignity, and a more inclusive world.” Others are pursuing advanced degrees or publishing research in agriculture and climate tech.
Mohamed Zyad at the Cybersecurity Geneva Week at UN Headquarters.
Youth For Sustainability (Y4S) Green Youth Ambassadors Awards Ceremony. Photo: UNDP
Their work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Each of the five youth-led initiatives received 100,000 EGP in seed funding from Plan International. And at the Green Growth Conference, attended by the Minister of Youth and Sports, the Danish Ambassador, and key national and international partners, the young leaders had the chance to showcase their startups and their vision for a greener Egypt.
More than just a programme, Youth for Sustainability is nurturing a new generation of solution builders. It is fueling local innovation, unlocking green job opportunities, and advancing Egypt’s Vision 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
As the journey continues, one thing is clear: when young people are equipped with tools, trust, and a platform to lead, the future gets a lot brighter and greener.