Autumn School 2016-2017

An app that offers redeemable points in exchange for recyclable waste in Kenya. An eco-café in Tunis. A resource and energy efficiency consultancy in Kiel. A micro-investment platform for local organic honey-keepers in Ethiopia. A climate insurance initiative protecting farmers in Benin against climate change impacts. A mobile application that allows people in Germany to experience the advantages of sufficient and sustainable consumption. A biogas digester that converts agricultural and communal waste into electricity for off-grid farming communities in Nigeria... Put the passionate founders of these and several further social and eco-inclusive initiatives together for a week, and you are bound to have a time full of excitement, inspiring ideas, hands-on problem solving, and a lot of fun!

For the Autumn School for Sustainable Entrepreneurship 2017 we selected 22 young entrepreneurs with innovative initiatives, focusing on climate change mitigation and adaptation, with the aim of strengthening, showcasing and connecting young African and German change makers in this area. The format took place on African soil for the first time – in Dar es Salaam’s Buni Hub from 24 to 28 October, and was preceded by a unique online mentorship in close partnership with Ashoka East Africa and its top-notch Ashoka Fellows.

During the event itself, participants had the chance not only to discuss and improve their business models, but to gain a substantial understanding of each others challenges as social entrepreneurs in differing contexts, and jointly come up with solutions to tackle the day-to-day hurdles of social entrepreneurship.

The programme included thematic roundtables, case study presentations by established ASApreneurs partners, field visits to innovative social start-ups in Dar es Salaam, workshops by last year’s alumni, pitches, and participation in the ASA multi-stakeholder networking event - the ASA Kaleidoskop. Participant Fabio Schojan summarizes his stay in Dar es Salam as “one productive week with mutual motivation and an environment that creates the time and right place to think about your project and receive valuable input on several topics from other persons!”

From the 14th to the 19th of November, 27 young Social Entrepreneurs from Germany and different African countries came together in Berlin to exchange their experiences and ideas. The schedule of the Autumn School 2016 included inspiring expert inputs and workshops with topics such as storytelling, fundraising, creating and monitoring sustainable supply chains and design thinking. Furthermore, the presentation of best-practice cases and visits of social start-ups were included. The participants had the opportunity to individually meet successful African and German sustainable entrepreneurs and to discuss different approaches to sustainable business in peer-to-peer sessions.

All participants were unified by their will to actively contribute to a socially and ecologically fairer global development with their own business ideas. Nombuso, who strives to encourage more recycling and waste separation in her hometown Pretoria by offering awareness trainings in schools and households, was one of the participants. Irina from Kiel offers “Open Wooden Workshops”, where people are taught to repair, recycle or build new furniture and to handle natural resources responsibly. Bernhard developed affordable, solar-powered bicycles to ease working conditions for people in rural areas of Namibia. In rural areas of Kenya, young girls are often absent from school during their menstrual period. Catherine aims to tackle this problem through the production of reusable and affordable sanitary pads. Together with the other Autumn School Participants, Nombuso, Irina, Bernhard and Catherine gained important impulses for their projects and reflected together how they could contribute their part to a more sustainable way of living in their particular countries. "Inspiring people, interesting workshops, nice atmosphere - a wonderful experience" Prosper Awuni, an ASA Autumn School participant, commented on the program.

One highlight concluding the program was the participation at the ASA-Kaleidoskop, where the Autumn School participants could exchange experiences and ideas with a larger audience of stakeholders from politics, economies or business from all over the world. Also, they were given the opportunity to present the results of their group works from the Autumn School. The Kaleidoskop is the annually held ASA - networking conference with topics regarding sustainable economies and business. In 2016, it took place at the ecological farm and venue “Domäne Dahlem” focusing on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations.