{"id":2783,"date":"2026-10-28T14:05:52","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T14:05:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/?p=2783"},"modified":"2026-10-28T14:29:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T14:29:17","slug":"youth-green-innovation-take-centre-stage-as-mutare-launches-mwaka-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/2026\/10\/28\/youth-green-innovation-take-centre-stage-as-mutare-launches-mwaka-hub\/","title":{"rendered":"YOUTH, GREEN INNOVATION TAKE CENTRE STAGE AS MUTARE LAUNCHES MWAKA HUB"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Fanuel Chinowaita<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

MUTARE, Zimbabwe<\/strong> \u2014 The City of Mutare has launched a youth innovation hub in Chikanga aimed at promoting sustainable agriculture, developing green enterprises and creating livelihood opportunities for young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mwaka Climate Hub, officially commissioned by Mutare Mayor Councillor Simon Chabuka on Friday, October 23, 2026, is designed to equip young people with practical agricultural skills, support climate-friendly innovations and help them turn business ideas into viable enterprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative is being implemented by Green Governance Zimbabwe (GGZ) under the Hivos Southern Africa-supported Urban Futures project, in partnership with organisations including Manica Youth Assembly (MAYA), Simukai Child Protection Programme and the City of Mutare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at the launch, Chabuka said young people were a critical resource in efforts to respond to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur greatest resource in adapting to climate change is not found in complex machinery, but in the boundless creativity, energy, and bold determination of our young people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hub offers young entrepreneurs opportunities to develop practical skills in agriculture, food processing, information and communication technology (ICT) and the arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its activities include peanut butter processing, fruit jam production, vertical farming, water harvesting, water purification and irrigation systems. The facility also includes a digital marketing system and a boardroom where young people can develop and incubate business ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hivos Head of Programmes Tanja Lubbas said the project was designed to give young people a leading role in shaping initiatives intended to address challenges in their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explaining the project’s approach during her speech at the launch, Lubbas said: \u201cWith young people in the lead, young people who are involved in designing the project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said young people were also expected to engage local authorities and government, working with community organisations to identify local needs and develop solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describing how the Mwaka hub had emerged from local collaboration, Lubbas said: \u201cIt’s really the local organizations, the local youth, together with government, municipality, to say, in Mutare, we really need something to keep young people out of drugs, out of poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lubbas said the project also sought to link poverty reduction with sustainable food production, traditional foods and innovative practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking about the project’s broader objectives, she said: \u201cAnd why not work together on a more sustainable future, not only raised out of poverty, but once we’re at it, let’s also work at a more sustainable future where we work with food systems, with traditional foods, with innovative practices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also stressed the importance of cooperation and knowledge-sharing among project partners, local organisations and authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, it’s important to say, we have to connect, we have to learn from each other,\u201d Lubbas said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Lubbas cautioned that the hub’s long-term success would depend on plans to sustain its activities and businesses beyond the lifespan of donor-funded support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referring to the remaining implementation period of the Urban Futures project, she said: \u201cWe still have a year to go, but that’s pretty soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She urged stakeholders to consider how the hub could continue operating and how the businesses it supports could become profitable and attract other sources of funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emphasising the need to plan for the period after the project ends, Lubbas said: \u201cWe have to think like, how do we make this sustainable? How do we look at the future? Because unfortunately, our role is limited, our means are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lubbas welcomed the municipality’s contribution to youth development, saying local authorities had an important role to play alongside community organisations and international donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concluding her remarks on the need for shared responsibility, she said: \u201cI’m really happy to see that the council does their thing to not leave it all to the local organizations or foreign donors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programme has already supported young entrepreneurs seeking to expand their businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tendai Mayenza, a vegetable vendor and farmer, received assistance that helped him move from selling produce at home to opening a shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wimbai Matongera, founder of Nzwisa-Ukuzwa, has also benefited from mentorship and exposure for her healthy food products. She is exploring plans to establish a sip corner and pursue export opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative is expected to promote entrepreneurship, improve livelihoods and encourage young people to participate in climate-resilient economic activities. It also seeks to broaden access to business mentorship, including for young people living with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the launch, Chabuka encouraged entrepreneurs to formalise their businesses, saying this would strengthen their contribution to economic development. He also urged young people living with disabilities to take advantage of the mentorship opportunities offered by the hub, emphasising that disability does not mean inability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The City of Mutare’s Director of Housing and Community Services highlighted the municipality’s commitment to supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs), revealing that US$1 million had been allocated to SME programmes in the city’s 2027 budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The launch brought together representatives of the City of Mutare, Hivos Southern Africa, Urban Futures consortium partners from Mutare, Bulawayo and Kitwe, and other stakeholders committed to youth empowerment and greener urban development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the Mwaka Climate Hub, the partners aim to create opportunities for young people to turn innovative ideas into sustainable businesses while contributing to food security, climate resilience and local economic development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fanuel Chinowaita MUTARE, Zimbabwe \u2014 The City of Mutare has launched a youth innovation hub in Chikanga aimed at promoting sustainable agriculture, developing green enterprises and creating livelihood opportunities for young people. The Mwaka Climate Hub, officially commissioned by Mutare Mayor Councillor Simon Chabuka on Friday, October 23, 2026, is designed to equip young…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2783"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2787,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2783\/revisions\/2787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewasupost.co.zw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}