Investing in young people and women
The West Africa Youth Resilience Forum 2026 runs from 23 to 25 November at the Novotel Cotonou Orisha, Baobab rooms, in Cotonou. Three days on investing in young people and women to strengthen the resilience of systems in the face of security and climate fragility.
The forum is co-organised by SNV with its co-leads, as part of Benin Entrepreneurship Month.
On the programme: a Youth Town Hall, four panels and round tables, ten parallel sessions, two Pitch Hangars, a Deal Room and an Investment Room, and seven countries represented.
Three days
- Monday 23 November Framing, governance and cohesion: official opening, Youth Resilience Town Hall, SNV keynote, high-level panel on the Triple Nexus approach, parallel sessions A and a round table on young people in local governance.
- Tuesday 24 November Resilience of systems: plenary on West African agri-food systems, parallel sessions B with the launch of the agroecological initiatives platform, Deal Room and B2B sessions, then the launch of the Pitch Hangars.
- Wednesday 25 November Finance, inclusion and leadership: round table connecting young innovators to investors, parallel sessions C, Investment Room pitches, then the Awards gala dinner and the closing.
Around the forum
Throughout the forum: the Resilience Room, an exhibition of innovations and success stories, stands held by young entrepreneurs and SMEs, and a networking space.
Before the forum: arrivals on 21 and 22 November, and a city tour of Cotonou on 22 November.
Taking part
The forum is by invitation. Delegates are sent a personal link that opens registration; without that link the activity accepts no registration.
For any question about an invitation: +229 01 68 00 60 11.