Youth Summit 2025: Pitch Competition Info Session

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Good morning from Washington D.C. it’s a cold January morning here in D.C., but we extend you all our warmest welcome.Thank you for tuning in today for the launch of the 2025 World Bank Group Youth Summit Pitch Competition.My name is Shwetha Grace Eapen and I will be your host for today.Today’s event will feature a series of engaging sessions, starting with an overview of the Pitch Competition where it will be a walkthrough of the application process.We’ll then hear from a panel of young entrepreneurs and sector experts who will discuss how technology and creativity are being harnessed to address global challenges.We’ll also have a brief Q&A session, so feel free to submit your questions in the chat throughout the event.To close, we’ll be joined by Robin Mearns, the Global Director of Social Development at the World Bank who will share some of his closing remarks.To kick things off, I would like to invite the Manager of this year’s Summit, Raaga Akkineni, to introduce the 12th edition of the World Bank Youth Summit and the theme for this year.To introduce Raaga briefly, her journey with the Summit began as a volunteer and quickly advanced to the Pitch Competition Co-Lead in 2023 and Deputy Manager in 2024.She’s a Research Analyst at the IFC specializing in data driven impact evaluations for private sector investments.Raaga, over to you.

[Raaga Akkineni]
Thank you Shwetha.Good morning, good afternoon and good evening to everyone joining us from across the globe.It is my absolute privilege to welcome you to the Pitch Competition launch event of the 2025 World Bank Group Youth Summit.The Youth Summit is a platform that embodies the energy, the creativity and the resilience of youth.This year we are gathering under the banner of “New Horizons: Youth-Led Innovation for a Sustainable World”.A theme that reflects not just our aspirations, but our unwavering belief in the transformative power of youth to shape the future.In today’s rapidly evolving world, youth are not just participating, but are trailblazers of innovation.Innovation, as OECD defines it, is the process of creating and implementing new solutions to solve challenges and seize opportunities.And as we know it, innovation is not just a concept, it is a catalyst for economic growth, job creation and inclusive development.A truth that is echoed by World Bank’s own innovative and competitiveness practice.This Summit highlights three critical focus areas where youth are already driving change, be it digital transformation and data, where youth are harnessing cutting edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence, big data and digital platforms to revolutionize industries and create opportunities, or climate action and resilience from green technologies to data driven agriculture, young leaders are crafting innovative solutions to tackle climate change while building sustainable communities, or creative industries, be it arts, media or fashion, young visionaries are not just creating jobs, but also shaping cultural narratives, promoting inclusivity and driving social change.These themes are deeply interwoven with perspectives that prioritize underserved population, address challenges in regions affected by fragility, conflict and violence, and emphasize the importance of partnerships to scale sustainable solutions.The world is at a tipping point.More than 85% of the global youth population lives in low or middle-income countries, and nearly 800 million young people are at the risk of being excluded from the job markets over the next decade.Yet despite these challenges, youth are turning adversity into opportunity.They’re using real time data to improve agricultural resilience, create digital platforms for financial inclusion, and preserving cultural heritage through creative expressions.These are the stories of innovation we want to celebrate at the Summit this year because they’re not just solutions, they’re lifelines to a better, more sustainable and inclusive world.This is where you come in.To every young entrepreneur, innovator and changemaker listening today, we need your ideas, and your courage, and your ambition, and your determination.I urge you to apply for the Pitch Competition where your ideas can take center stage.And join us in May 19th and 20th, 2025 here in Washington D.C.for an unforgettable experience of learning, collaboration and inspiration.Together, let’s push the boundaries of what is possible.See you at the World Bank Group Youth Summit 2025.Thank you.Back to you, Shwetha.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Thank you, Raaga for introducing the theme of the Summit this year.Very exciting.Now let’s dive into learning more about this year’s Pitch Competition.To briefly introduce our Competition Co-Leads, Alla Ilanov is a Knowledge Management Specialist at the World Bank, and Nabeel Siddiqui provides consulting expertise at IFC focused on policy initiatives aimed at sustainable development and innovation.They have prepared a comprehensive video outlining the application process and qualification criteria and what to expect from the competition this year.So, please pay close attention as we now play the video.

[Video playing]
1, 2, 3, 4.

[Lively music playing]

[Alla Ilanov]
Hi everyone.Welcome.We are excited to tell you all about an amazing opportunity to showcase your innovative ideas and solutions at the World Bank Group Youth Summit 2025 Pitch Competition.

[Nabeel Siddiqui]
If you’re between the ages of 18 and 35 and if you’ve got a great idea to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges, this competition is for you.The Summit’s theme for 2025 is “New Horizons: Youth-Led Innovation for a Sustainable World” and we want you to be a part of it.

[Alla Ilanov]
The competition focuses on three exciting and impactful themes, digital transformation and data, climate action and resilience, and creative industries and cultural innovation.Whether you’re passionate about AI, climate resilience or art for social change, there is a place for your idea here.

[Nabeel Siddiqui]
Exactly.Now, you may be wondering, how do you apply?Let’s break it down for you.To enter, you need to create an account on the F6S platform and submit your application online.Here, you’ll have to fill in a questionnaire, upload a pitch deck, and submit a video pitch of your project.Don’t worry, we’ll explain each of these in detail.Starting with the video pitch, it’s simple.You get one minute to introduce yourself, explain the problem you’re solving, and showcase your innovative solutions.Remember, this is your chance to impress, so make it count.

[Alla Ilanov]
Next, the pitch deck.This is your opportunity to dive deeper into your idea.You’ll need to explain the problem you are trying to solve, your solution, who your target audience is, and how your unique solution could make an impact.You can even use the pre-designed template we’ve provided or design your own.

[Nabeel Siddiqui]
And don’t forget about the questionnaire, it will ask you about your project, your team, and your goals for the future.Submit everything together on the F6S application.

[Alla Ilanov]
So when can you submit all of this?The competition officially opened on December 18, 2024.Applications close on January 26, 2025.After that, a panel of experts will review your submissions and mid-February 2025 the top candidates will be invited for interviews.

[Nabeel Siddiqui]
Then, the finalists, that six projects, will get a chance to pitch live at the World Bank Group Youth Summit from May 19th to 20th this year.This is a hybrid event, so if you’re one of the finalists, you might even get travel support for the trip.How cool is that?

[Alla Ilanov]
Before we wrap up, here are a few quick tips.Be innovative, think outside the box.Be impactful, your solution should address real world problems.Be scalable, show how your idea can grow and make a wider impact.And last, but not least, be clear, your pitch video and deck should highlight your idea in the simplest and most compelling way.

[Nabeel Siddiqui]
Remember, the competition is for individuals as well as for teams for up to five people from around the world.We encourage diverse and gender balanced teams.So, bring your passion and creativity to the table.

[Alla Ilanov]
So, what are you waiting for?Apply now.Get your ideas out there and maybe you’ll be one of the finalists presenting at the World Bank Group Youth Summit 2025.This is your chance to make a difference and connect with experts, innovators, and thought leaders from across the globe.

[Nabeel Siddiqui]
If you have any questions or need more information, feel free to reach out to at youthsummit@worldbank.org.We can’t wait to see what you come up with.Good luck everyone and remember the world needs your ideas.Let’s shape the future together!

[Video ends]

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Thank you, Alla, Nabeel for that comprehensive and detailed video overview.If you have any questions, please use the chat function to ask them.Later on, in the Q&A session, Alla and Nabeel will be joining us to answer some additional questions as well.All right, we now have an exciting panel discussion ahead and I’m thrilled to introduce three distinguished guests who will explore the topic of youth-led innovation.We have joining us today, Sara Berkai, who is the founder of Ambessa Play, an innovative company creating educational DIY tools.A first-generation student with a Master’s in Child Development from Oxford University, Sara has been recognized with numerous accolades such as Forbes 30 Under 30, UN’s ITU Young ICT Leader, and Innovate UK’s 2023 Women in Innovation.Also joining us is Alexandre Laure, a Senior Private Sector Specialist in the FCI Global Practice at the World Bank Group.Based in Jakarta, he leads private sector initiatives in Indonesia and Timor-Leste.Previously, he was a climate entrepreneur in East Africa, founding Green Bio Energy, Uganda’s leading waste to energy business.I’m also happy to welcome, or I should say welcome back.Guadaluna Chaer, Cofounder and CEO of Luxeed Robotics, an ag-tech startup revolutionizing the herbicide industry through innovative weed removal technologies using laser and AI.Her innovative solution earned her the Jury Choice award at the 2024 Youth Summit Pitch Competition.We are delighted to have you all join us today.I would like to kickstart the conversation with a question for our young entrepreneurs here, Sara and Guadaluna, to learn about your journey as a young entrepreneur.You both have ventured into innovative fields at a young age, Guadaluna with Luxeed Robotics and Sara with Ambessa Play.You each identified a pressing issue and created solutions that are making a tangible impact.Could you share the moment when you first realized the potential of your idea and the process that you went through in framing it, and also some of the initial challenges that you faced as a young entrepreneur?Sara, if we could start with you, and then go to Guadaluna.

[Sara Berkai]
Yes.Hi.Thank you for having me.So, Ambessa was born out of a direct request from the displaced children that I was working with saying, “Can you build this?”We spent a lot of time co-designing it, and then we launched on Kickstarter.So, for anyone unfamiliar, that’s a crowdfunding platform.And it took off, and so that was our first, or my first understanding of this can build traction and this can be something that’s maybe more scalable.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Thank you.What were some of the challenges you faced when you were starting Ambessa Play?

[Sara Berkai]
A lot of it was trying to figure out the structure.So, do we exist as a charity?Do we exist as a for-profit social enterprise?There is a huge…Social entrepreneurship in of itself.There are so many different types and models.Obviously, the main focus for us was the impact was delivering education to displaced children out of school.So, figuring out what vehicle we did that, I think took us at least a year or so of trying to understand what makes sense.But we kept the users, the displaced children at the forefront, and at the moment it exists as a for-profit social enterprise.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Thank you.Guadaluna, how about you?What was the process like and when you found the potential for your idea?

[Guadaluna Chaer]
As a young engineer, actually engineering student at the time even, we were obsessed with the idea that we can use our skills, the skills that we learn at university, to solve real life problems with the technological advancement.So, for me, I always thought about it, “How can we be a young Elon Musk?”, and in Lebanon, where this started, for me, there was the budding ecosystem and entrepreneurship that tell you, hey, even if you’re young, you can apply for, if you have a good problem, a good solution for it, you can apply and get funding and work on your idea instead of…You don’t want to take the traditional route of Master’s or even employment.So, in my case, I wanted a real-life problem.And now we’re working on the laser weeding.So, we’re burning weeds with lasers instead of using herbicides.I’m actually now on the field, I’ll show.Before this, it was actually a tomato sorting machine that I wanted to work with, but then we focused on the weeding problem because it’s a problem everywhere, not just in Lebanon.It’s also a problem in the US, it’s a huge agricultural problem and without technology we cannot replace herbicides at all.So, we were excited about the problem, and we got more excited when you spoke to farmers who are facing this problem, just like every farmer.This is how it started and the main challenge.There are so many challenges, especially when it comes to a technologically advanced system.We’re not just talking about robotics, we’re also talking about AI and integrating the two together and agri-machinery.The challenge was for us at the time all the crises that we were facing in Lebanon, whether banking crisis, financial crisis, government at the time, even.Even with this, we were able to bootstrap out of there and come to the Netherlands and get funding here.And that’s where we’re working now.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Thank you.Thank you, Sara and Guadaluna for sharing that.I’m sure a lot of the listeners here are also young entrepreneurs who can relate with a lot of issues and challenges in kickstarting this and it’s very inspiring the work that you do.So, building on this, I would like to also include Alexandre on my next question.From your experience as a Senior Private Sector Specialist at the Bank, you have supported various policy initiatives that have been targeted at digital transformation and sustainable businesses.How do you see the World Bank?How does the World Bank help businesses in developing countries, especially youth-led ventures?And why do you believe that it’s important to include young voices in shaping the future for global development?

[Alexandre Laure]
So, let me start by saying that for the World Bank, innovation is a key ingredient for economic growth, especially in an emerging country.You can have a look at our latest World Development Report 2024 which is on escaping the middle-income trap where we highlight the importance of innovation for economy to grow.We do provide a range of support to the governments around the world.Usually, we come in more from a statistic capacity providing support through the World Bank enterprise survey.We also have a survey focusing on fostering the adoption of technology, AKA the FAT survey.We also provide support on doing public expenditure review especially focusing on innovation.Usually on the basis of this technical assistance program we try to generate knowledge pieces, and those knowledge pieces can be through report policy notes and very often they actually guide some of the key reforms that we see in our country.For example, if you look at most of the startup acts that were passed in West Africa about six, seven years ago, that was through World Bank support where we brought together the civil society youth group business associations through policy action to help policymakers understand what were the needs of the young people and the enterprising people in their respective countries.Such support also helps us to rally, at the continental level, folks at the African Union.We have one of our flagship initiatives that that is called “Digital Economy for Africa,” DE4A, where we look more at the digital transformation through five pillars on infrastructure, platform, financial services, digital businesses, and also digital skills.Now, usually that work, which we call at the World Bank more the analytical, technical assistance work for reform, we translate it through projects or programs.So, if we have an understanding with a government that they would require financing for public policy, we would actually be supporting by co-financing those programs.We have many of those programs around the world.The region where we were the most innovative and initiated such programs was in the Middle East and North Africa region where we typically supported governments in establishing what we call “fund of funds” or like a financing vehicle to support innovative entrepreneur startups and SMEs.Our trademark project is actually in Jordan for those that are interested, it’s called the ISSF, the Innovative Startup and SME Fund, and what it does it’s actually providing financial support for enterprising youth.That financial support can be in the form of what we call equity investment, but it can also be grant-based support.Many of those projects, usually, we have what we call a non-financial component, which very often is a business plan competition.And a business plan competition, we have done a lot of them around the world.We also have a lot of research on how to design and implement such a program.I’m pretty sure that at almost any given time we would have active World Bank business plan competition in at least 20 or 30 countries around the world.Maybe I’ll start by saying that the importance for the World Bank supporting a new, and potentially high growth businesses, is on the competition agenda because we want to stimulate the entry of new ideas, new business models which can challenge the incumbents, and usually by doing that, we can actually provide products and services at a cheaper price or that address some of the key constraints in the country that we are supporting.I think sometimes it’s a misconception about who are the entrepreneurs.I think globally they are not actually young people, but those that in terms of volume, or try the most starting a business, obviously young people.It is very important for young people to actually take a risk because usually, and I’ve seen that even in the most difficult places that are in conflict or countries, like in Lebanon, that were financially collapsing, usually young entrepreneurs are the only ones that are optimistic about the outlook of their countries.If you don’t have those fresh ideas, young ideas, there is no specific reason why the older generation should actually care because the only reason you would care as a senior, as a parent, is actually to leave a better planet, or at least a livable planet to the next generation.The best way to do that is actually to be able to start your own idea and not take, not be afraid of actually failing because it’s not a loss for the economy.That idea may be revived or maybe tested by other teams.I’ll stop there and sorry for being a bit, a bit long.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
No, thank you very much for that very insightful answer.So, I would like to bring in the conversation of climate innovation as well.It’s one of our pillars for this year.Climate change is one of the global challenges and youth innovators have been very active and have been playing a very pivotal role in these solutions.I would like to bring back Alexandre and Guadaluna.Guadaluna, your work, Luxeed Robotics, also involves climate conscious technology.And Alexandre, you’ve also, apart from your role at the Bank, you’ve also co-founded several companies in Europe and Africa that are focused on environmental and tech startups.How do you see young contributors in this, young innovators contributing in this green transition?And what do you think are some of the key opportunities and challenges that they have?Guadaluna, if we could start with your perspective on it.

[Guadaluna Chaer]
Yes, the perspective of a young person.I can tell you, my generation woke up to this world with this warning that we’re all gonna die.Global warming, climate change is gonna kill us all.There’s nothing, there’s no future.That’s how we were raised, at least in school.So, we were all growing with the screen consciousness, we all wanted to be part of this change.And now the infrastructure is there, whether the finances.Everyone’s aware that with the SDGs and everything.And so, as young people, we have these fresh ideas, and we have the skills to implement them, but we still need the wisdom and the financial structure to be able to do this.And me, and now, okay, I’m 27, but I have young engineers working with me and they have the fresh ideas on a technical level, whether it’s AI or robotics, to implement and even optimize the system further.So, we all need each other.Our technology mainly focuses on disrupting herbicides, completely eliminating it, whether it’s as a whole supply chain or even from the soil and the environment as residues because there’s nothing that the herbicides don’t harm whether biodiversity or the soil of the crops, but not just these.Lasers, we don’t even disrupt the soil, which means we also push not only organic farming, but also regenerative farming.This is important.The soil can store a huge number of CO2 through CO2 sequestration, just like the ocean and everything.We help in a way in global warming.And that’s the thing.All these startups that are growing now in Europe or Africa or Middle East, we’re all contributing somewhat.We are like a small piece in this big puzzle of climate change.The more this infrastructure pushes for these ideas, the more we’re going to thrive and be successful.Like, I can tell you a comparison between Lebanon and Netherlands.So, for Lebanon it’s a really good idea ecosystem.We were able to transition into a prototype, a proof of concept very well, but there wasn’t the infrastructure or the money to move forward and that’s why we moved to the Netherlands.The support on the technology aspect is here, and the early-stage financing is here.So yeah, that’s it.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Thank you.And Alexandre, I know you touched a lot about opportunities for young entrepreneurs as well.Any final words and some of the opportunities they have in this space in green transition.

[Alexandre Laure]
So, maybe I think it’s important as a young entrepreneur.I mean, obviously you have your business idea and you’re trying to bring about a new business model in the market, but I think you should not underestimate as well the relationship building that is needed to convey key messages to the government.The reason I’m saying that is when I started my businesses in Uganda and in East Africa, at the beginning I was shying away from meeting these people in the embassy or trying to meet with government people because the whole point of me starting a business was to try to generate revenue outside of public money.Like, to me, I would even say a business that relies on a government contract is a fake business.It’s not a real value that you are creating to the market.So, I was staying away from those people, but then I realized that a lot of the binding constraints, especially on climate, is related to the legal and regulatory framework.For example, my key business was on waste to energy.So, solid waste, liquid waste, and for Breen Bio Energy it was solid waste, which was basically recycling initially banana peeling, but then any type of solid waste that could be carbonized, turned into briquettes and we had a complementary product, which was energy saving stone.And then, you technically try to innovate which at the time was a very important part of our business.We did everything in Uganda so with the engineers, with the university, the energy lab, we did a lot of reverse engineering, and so it took us a lot of time to get our machinery and product right.We had a beautiful product and you said it was done that people will just buy it because it was cheaper than charcoal.It lasted longer, it didn’t produce any smoke.So, you basically have a…No, it’s a no brainer.But then when you hit the market, you see that a lot of the work to be able to convince a customer to buy the product is also about raising awareness.And when you’re a business, you’re not an NGO, and so you don’t have unlimited funding to raise awareness and give free product and try to get your product out there.So, also working with civil society organizations is very important.So, my point is if you have a business idea, just go for it.It doesn’t matter whether you’re going to fail or succeed, but do not underestimate policymakers because they can actually help you with your bottom line.And also, do not underestimate the challenge of getting your product out there because the most beautiful products, they end up crashing in the reality of the market.I’ll just give a specific example so that people understand.On the climate space, unless you have a price on carbon, basically you’re operating at the margin.Like, if you’re in a country that does not value CO2 pricing, that there is no regulatory framework that classifies such and such waste, and how to bring them back in the market.Yes, you’re going to be able to make money and provide a climate friendly solution, but you’re going to be basically fighting against almost all odds.While if you’re in a country that has a pricing on carbon, that has a legislation on waste etc., you are actually riding a positive wave.So, you need to send those messages to the politicians, and then the civil society, why it’s important.I got my idea because I was going around slums in Kampala.It was actually an NGO that basically introduced to me the idea and I thought the idea was so great that it should be turned into a business.And that knowledge, as a business you cannot do everything.That knowledge of the community, that knowledge of walking at the bottom of the pyramid is a knowledge that you can nurture most of the time through those civil society organizations.I’ll stop there.Thank you.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Thank you very much, Alexandre and Guadaluna, for your insightful examples and advice to young innovators.It’s been wonderful listening to your stories and your insights.As we wrap up this panel discussion, I do have one final question for Sara, is what advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly those that are starting businesses with a social mission?

[Sara Berkai]
I’d say I benefited a lot and still do from mentorship, but from both, mentorship and just reaching out to other social entrepreneurs who are way further along the journey than we were and asking them everything from legal structures to fundraising.And even in that, there’s grant funding, there’s venture capital, what makes sense?So, one is talking to other social entrepreneurs along the journey, but also a network of social entrepreneurs who are starting off just as with you.Even with this program, I think one of the main benefits might be meeting other finalists.And it’s, as I’m sure any social entrepreneur can attest to, it is an extreme rollercoaster.And so, having a network or a group of friends that you can talk to about that, from legals, to finances, to marketing, to storytelling, who understand that sort of unique perspective of impact and sustainability in the long term can help.So, mentorship and a network of social entrepreneurs, I’d say.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Wonderful.Thank you so much.Guadaluna, any advice for young entrepreneurs who are starting out with their social mission?

[Guadaluna Chaer]
Social mission, but well, unfortunately I’m for profit, but it’s fine.I would say I would highlight the idea of Alexandre, relationship management.People can make your business happen.People are the best leverage.You know who you need to meet, your stakeholders or people who empower you.I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for so many people that played an important role in getting us to where we are now.So, if it’s about drafting a PowerPoint or perfecting it, and going and meeting people at an exhibition, I rather say go meet people at the exhibition to make more friends in your ecosystem, but focus on the stakeholders of your business.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Thank you so much, Guadaluna.Thank you so much, Sara and Alexandre, for that very insightful conversation.Sorry.Thank you so much.And I hope today’s discussion has inspired all the young entrepreneurs who are tuning in today and thinking about how to contribute to tackling global challenges.So, we will now be moving on to our Q&A session where you can ask questions to both our panelists today, as well as our Pitch Competition Co-Leads, they will be joining in as well, Alla and Nabeel.So, due to our limited time, we will only be able to address few questions live, but then our team will also field the questions on in the chat as well.So, to start with, we have a question for our Pitch Competition Co-Lead.Maybe Nabeel, you could take this one.The question is any tips on how participants can demonstrate the scalability and sustainability of their idea?Nabeel?

[Nabeel Siddiqui]
Yeah, thank you for the question.I think it’s very important because scalability and sustainability are among the key metrics we consider when evaluating our applications.So, scalability.One way to highlight that would be to show market potential.If you’re for-profit, you could show the total addressable markets and markets you’re willing to cater to within during the roadmap of your journey.That’s one key way of demonstrating that.You could also show the replicability, and show what other regions and industries and demographics can your product or solution work with.Similarly, you could also demonstrate efficiency.How can you scale effectively without proportionally increasing the cost?One key way of doing that would be through better use of technology.An app, perhaps thousands of people versus a door-to-door service that can cater to hundreds of people.So, how can you leverage technology scale and provide impact amongst a larger population?And also, you can show partnerships and a clear growth plan is something that would be very valuable.What kind of distribution channels you’re using, how will you market your solution is also very relevant here.When we’re talking about sustainability, environmental impact and how you can quantify that would be key.What kind of resource efficiency you’re creating, whether that’s savings in carbon emissions, or water savings and energy savings, if you can quantify that and show exactly how much you’re saving versus conventional solutions, and what addition and benefits your solutions are bringing, that would be very relevant to the application.And how well you can align them with global sustainable targets and NDCs and nationally determined contributions.So, that would be one great way of showing scalability and sustainability in the application.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
My apologies for the audio.Another question for the Pitch Competition Co-Leads is what kind of mentorship or support can participants expect through the competition process?Either Nabeel or Alla?You could take this question.

[Alla Ilanov]
I can take this one.Can you hear me all right?

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Yes.

[Alla Ilanov]
So, I think every year it’s a bit different depending on how we organize the Pitch Competition.So, for example, in the past, finalists and winners have been provided with multiple mentorship opportunities by our academic and private sector partners.This included Pitch Competition mentorship accelerator programs and long-term mentorship opportunities customized to the needs of the Pitch Competition winners.Additionally, last year’s winners also had the opportunity to pitch in front of the social development venture capitalists.I hope this answered the question.Thank you.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Okay, so we have a question for the panelists and this is open, anyone can take it, Sara, Guadaluna or Alexandre.The question is, how would you communicate to the rest of the world the actions to improve our particular environment, to improve the global environment where you work hand in hand with senior citizens and adults?Alexandre, would you like to take this?

[Alexandre Laure]
Yeah, I mean it’s a very tough, tough question.I think yes.Young people are more fluent in climate related issues, and I think there is a difficulty to socialize such an issue to senior citizens and people from the older generation.I think that’s what is very important, I mean you have several ways you can actually socialize that to senior citizens.I mean, first of all is the intergenerational relationship, so why you are doing this.And I think any senior citizens would actually relate to it, being parent or grant a grandparent, but one thing that I found was quite powerful.When you look at issues such as pollution, flooding, etc., senior citizens can relate to the time where you didn’t see plastic bottles all over the beaches of Indonesia.I mean, people will remember how it used to be.And so, one of the ways of reaching out and pitching, I think, to such a demographic is also to tell them that you want to restore somehow the natural capital that they used to know.I’ll stop there, but it was a very tough question.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
But thank you for so much for your answer to that question.Yeah, it definitely is a thought provoking one.We do seem to be getting a few more questions for our panelists, as well as for our Pitch Competition Co-Leads.Unfortunately, we wouldn’t be able to answer them all in the live session, but our team will be getting back to you in the chat.So, to conclude this exciting session, we are joined by Robin Mearns, who is the Global Director of the Social Sustainability and Inclusion Global Practice at the World Bank.He has led operations, policy, dialogue, and analytics in community and local development, as well as land and natural resources.We are very excited to hear his insights today.Please, over to you, Robin.

[Robin Mearns]
Thank you very much indeed, Shwetha, and I would really like to thank all of the panelists, Guadaluna, Sara and Alexandre for sharing your incredibly inspiring examples and experiences.I think this is really the power of example.The demonstration effect is incredibly inspiring, I think, for everyone who’s tuned in today, and I want to extend enormous thanks to everyone who has tuned in today for this very exciting launch of the Pitch Competition organized by the World Bank Group’s Youth Summit.As we heard from the outset, I think Raaga highlighted this quite alarming statistic that within the next decade, 800 million young people around the world are at risk of not being able to participate in global job markets, in labor markets.These young people are concentrated particularly in low and lower middle-income countries.And that really is an alarming statistic.And so, the question is, what do we do about it?I think that’s the whole point of this Pitch Competition and, in fact, the drive of the Youth Summit that it’s really a question of harnessing the passion, the creativity, and the energy of young people themselves to try to identify solutions, to act as catalysts for job creation, for economic prosperity, and for social inclusion in ways that are scalable, in ways that are sustainable, and that actually reach many underserved populations which face particular barriers in accessing job opportunities.Really, congratulations to all of those who’ve been involved in crafting this particular Pitch Competition.I really like the themes that have been selected this year around digital transformation, around climate action, and climate resilience, and then finally the power of creative industries, arts for social change.I think all of these are areas where young people can show the way, can show what is an exciting, chart an exciting path forward.We’re really, really looking forward to seeing what comes from the Pitch Competition this year.Now, the World Bank is absolutely committed to supporting youth innovation, and in particular youth access to jobs and economic opportunities, and empowering young leaders to be able to shape the future.And in fact, from the Social Development department, from our group, we’ve just come up with a new report which is called “Change-Makers” including youth in finding solutions, “Empowering Youth for Inclusive Societies.”Look out for this on social media.The core message of this is that, of course jobs and economic opportunities are critically needed, but more than that, it’s also how do you engage, how do you actually engage to make it happen?What youth are looking for, what young people are looking for is for their voices to be heard, for opportunities to engage, and to join, and to help shape the global conversation, and to shape and chart the way forward.So, I think organizations like the World Bank, there are many other organizations who are keen to support in this space, I think providing the tools, the resources, and the networks to help young leaders such as those that we’ve heard from today to succeed is absolutely fundamental and critically needed.Not all youth are equal and some face particular barriers because of poverty status or where they happen to live, others face barriers because of, of who they are.Those with diverse gender identities, for example, people with disabilities, young people with disabilities of various kinds.So, there’s an essential need to find tailored solutions that meet the needs of all youth and paying attention to all of these kinds of intersectionalities.So, let me just end with, really, the whole point of this Pitch Competition is, that it’s a call to action for future collaboration.The future lies in the hands of young innovators who are not afraid to challenge the status quo and to envision new solutions.The whole point of this is that we want to encourage continued support, learning and collaboration, and for us all to work together towards a more sustainable, equitable and prosperous world.let me end there, but I do want to give a special shout out to Raaga, Shwetha, Alla, Nabeel and everybody involved in the World Bank Group Youth Summit.We need your leadership, we’re benefiting from your leadership and I’d like to congratulate you.This is now the 12th year of the Youth Summit, and so this is a super important Pitch Competition.With that, let me end and pass it back to you.Shwetha.

[Shwetha Grace Eapen]
Thank you so much, Robin, that was an inspiring way to conclude our pre-event information session.I want to thank you all for joining us today.This wraps up our live event.A very special thank you to all our guests who have joined us for this launch event, we sincerely appreciate your participation.And to all tuning in, we hope you found this session valuable.We look forward to seeing you either in person or online at the Youth Summit in May.If you have any other further questions about the Pitch Competition or other further queries, reach out to us at youthsummit@worldbank.org with the title “Pitch Competition”with your questions, and we’ll be sure to get back to you.Thank you so much for tuning in.Have a great day.