WE Empower UN SDG Challenge 2026 – YOA

Deadline: March 8, 2026

Applications are open for the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge 2026. Launched on the UN General Assembly in 2018 by the UN Secretary‑General, the President of the World Bank, and the Council of Women World Leaders, the WE (Women Entrepreneurs) Empower UN SDG Challenge is the primary world competitors recognizing progressive ladies entrepreneurs advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and provoking communities to construct a extra sustainable and equitable world by 2030.

Co‑Chaired by the Chief Economist of the World Bank Group; Diane von Furstenberg, Founder and Chairwoman of DVF Studio; Amanda Ellis, Senior Director at ASU’s Global Futures Laboratory; and Alyse Nelson, President and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership, the Challenge champions leaders whose enterprises are reshaping communities, economies, and ecosystem. Awardees are acknowledged for his or her groundbreaking work and obtain capability-constructing coaching, visibility, and entry to an unparalleled world community to advance their enterprises. The program highlights and elevates the important contributions of girls entrepreneurs and enterprise leaders who’re driving progress towards the SDGs and addressing the world’s most pressing challenges.

Benefits

• Awardees will likely be notified by mid‑July 2026 and can journey to New York City throughout Climate Week and the 81st UN General Assembly, September 19–26, 2026.
• They will take part in a excessive‑impression agenda that includes pitch workshops, tailor-made trainings from main and supporting companions, and curated networking with world leaders in enterprise, coverage, and philanthropy. The week will conclude with the WE Empower Pitch Challenge, hosted by philanthropist, vogue icon, and Vital Voices Board Member Diane von Furstenberg at her New York studio, the place awardees will current their enterprises to a distinguished panel of judges for an opportunity to win grant funding. Due to evolving U.S. visa restrictions, the staff can be contemplating convening the 2026 WE Empower Challenge in Geneva—the UN’s second headquarters—in the course of the week of June 14–20 as an alternate possibility. Applicants ought to be ready and prepared to journey to both location throughout both timeframe.

Eligibility

• You should establish as a girl entrepreneur.
• You should lead choice-making inside your entity.
• Your enterprise or group should have been in operation for at the very least three years as of August 1, 2026.
• You should make use of at the very least three full-time staff or full-time equivalents.
• Your enterprise or group should generate a minimal of USD $75,000 in annual income. For nonprofit organizations, income could comprise donations, grants, and funds raised by numerous fundraising actions.
• You should be professionally proficient in English.
• You should be at the very least 21 years previous by August 1, 2026.
• You should be out there to journey to New York City, NY, and take part in all occasions from Saturday, September 19 – September 26, 2026, and take part in digital programming from August by October 2026.

Application

Applications are open from 12:00AM United States Eastern Time on Monday, January 26, 2006, by 11:59PM United States Eastern Time on Sunday, March 8, 2026.

Click here to apply

For extra data, go to WE Empower UN SDG Challenge.