Mbokodo Climate Change Innovation Challenge (MCCIC)
One of the challenges identified that the black women face is obtaining the necessary support to translate innovative ideas into bankable and comprehensive proposals that could be presented for financial support to turn concepts into reality.
The Mbokodo Climate Change Innovation Challenge (MCCIC) will be an impactful ideation and early-stage business development platform that is bridging the gap that exists in the country’s climate change market by developing young climate innovators and their ideas through an innovative MCCIC programme. The MCCIC programme will equip aspiring young entrepreneurs with knowledge, skills, tools and resources to develop their ideas into actual businesses.
This 5-week mentorship programme provides aspiring women entrepreneurs with everything they need to know to develop their ideas, create a strong business model, perfecting their pitch, and launch their climate innovative start-ups. Promoting gender equality and social inclusion is central to the objectives of the MCCIC programme.
PROBLEM ANALYSIS
The magnitude of climate finance required to facilitate a just transition to low carbon climate resilient development pathways is a pressing issue in South Africa. There are deep-seated concerns and mistrust about the process even as there are growing commitments to reduce the country’s carbon footprint. Thus, creating awareness about climate change is fundamental in reducing the anthropogenic carbon emissions and vulnerability as well as building resilience.
The architecture of climate finance in South Africa has not evolved to meet the rising needs to safeguard the vulnerable against the effects of climate change. Women in general are the ones who bear the brunt of climate change, as they rely more on natural resources that are endangered by climate change for a living.
In South Africa, where gender equality is still elusive and the traditional role of women is still narrowly defined, black women continue to have disproportionate balance between normal work, reproductive, and productive work. Women are not only vulnerable to climate change, but they are also powerful agents of change in relation to both mitigation and adaptation.
This project aims to tackle the systemic discrimination faced by women while addressing unequal power relations and harmful norms and practices underpinning gender inequality. This would be done by providing capacity to black women and girls on issues related to climate change. In addition, the project seeks to establish a CCIC programme targeting women-owned social enterprises that demonstrate compelling business cases to tackle climate change challenges in the rural communities.
Impact
The project is located at the intersection of racial equity, gender equality and climate justice nexus, therefore, its long-term impact is to achieve racial and gender equality whilst facilitating a just transition to low carbon climate resilient development pathway in South Africa.
Racial equity: address racialised disadvantage in South Africa through focused recruitment • Gender equality: tackle the systemic discrimination while addressing unequal power relations and harmful norms and practices underpinning gender as well as racial inequality.
Climate justice: ensure the transition to low carbon development climate resilient development pathway is just, socially inclusive.
Racial equity is multi-faceted and at the centre of attaining it is the empowerment of the marginalised women who continue to be excluded from meaningful socioeconomic participation.
The direct impact of the project will be the empowerment of black women on contemporary trends driving climate change and exposure to innovative tools and techniques.
The knowledge will enable black women to design and develop businesses that will directly contribute to climate compactible development. This will have a positive impact on labour-force participation, creating employment as well as household productivity.
Women can offer substantive contribution towards disaster responses and management of natural resources, resulting in an increase in climate resilience as well as improving the environmental outcomes.
