Women-In-WACREN Climate Innovation Lab 2026

12 Oct 2026, 08:30 → 15 Oct 2026, 17:00 Africa/Accra

Abuja

Abigail Essel, Amina Ramallan (WACREN)

Women-In-WACREN (WiW) is hosting the Climate Innovation Lab 2026, a structured innovation programme that combines a virtual network of women in STEM, an intensive in-person Climate Innovation Lab, and a post-lab mentorship programme.

The programme aims to strengthen the capacity of women in STEM across West and Central Africa to collaboratively design and develop innovative digital solutions that address climate change adaptation and mitigation challenges within their communities and institutions.

Monday 12 October

08:30 → 09:00 Registration & Networking

Participants and mentors assemble

09:00 → 09:30 Welcome & Innovation Lab Briefing

Explain the challenge, four-day journey, six-month pathway and expected prototype, participant introductions

Speaker: Abigail Essel

09:30 → 10:15 Climate Challenges & People

Introduce the climate-resilience challenges and the people/institutions affected

Speaker: Prof. Amos Kabo-Bah (AfriGEO)

10:15 → 10:45 From Problems to Solutions

Short practical introduction to human-centred design, users, value propositions and assumptions

Speaker: Dr Vivian Chinwe Nnamdi

10:45 → 11:15 Tea Break

11:15 → 12:45 Team Lab 1: Understand the Problem

Teams examine their assigned challenge, identify target users, needs/pain points, existing approaches and underlying assumptions

12:45 → 13:30 Problem Review with Mentors

Each team presents its problem statement and receives challenge/feedback before designing the solution

13:30 → 14:30 Lunch

14:30 → 15:00 From Ideas to Testable Prototypes

What constitutes a prototype; choosing what needs to be demonstrated rather than building everything

Speaker: Mr Joshua Opoku Agyemang (IoT Network Hub Africa)

15:00 → 16:30 Team Lab 2: Define the Solution

Define intervention, value proposition, key user journey, critical assumptions and prototype scope

16:30 → 17:00 Day 1 Checkpoint

Output: validated/refined problem statement + target users + proposed intervention + critical assumptions + prototype scope

Speaker: Abigail Essel

Tuesday 13 October

09:00 → 09:45 Team Build Plans

Teams present what they intend to demonstrate by the end of the day

09:45 → 10:15 Technology Clinic

Just-in-time introduction to relevant tools, data, AI, APIs, low/no-code, web/mobile etc. based on actual team needs

10:15 → 10:45 Build Sprint 1

Develop core user journey/proof of concept

10:45 → 11:15 Tea Break

11:15 → 13:30 Build Sprint 2

Build the critical functionality or simulation needed to test the idea

13:30 → 14:30 Lunch

14:30 → 16:00 Build Sprint 3

Integrate data/content, complete prototype flow and prepare demonstration

16:00 → 16:30 Mentor Prototype Review

Mentors test whether the prototype actually demonstrates the team's central proposition

16:30 → 17:00 Day 2 Checkpoint

Output: testable prototype + defined assumptions/questions for user testing

Speaker: Amina Ramallan (WACREN)

Wednesday 14 October

09:00 → 09:30 How to Test an Idea

What constitutes useful evidence; testing assumptions rather than asking whether people "like" the prototype

Speaker: Ms Chineme Esor

09:30 → 10:45 User Testing Round 1

Intended users/domain representatives interact with prototypes; teams observe and collect structured feedback

Speaker: Ms Zainab Usman

10:45 → 11:15 Tea Break

11:15 → 12:00 Team Lab: What Did We Learn?

Analyse feedback: confirmed assumptions, rejected assumptions, unexpected findings

12:00 → 13:00 Refinement Sprint 1

Prioritise and implement the most important changes

13:00 → 14:00 Lunch

14:00 → 15:15 Refinement Sprint 2

Improve prototype and test critical changes

15:15 → 15:45 From Prototype to Pilot

Introduce the transition from a four-day prototype to a six-month development/pilot

Speaker: Joshua Opoku Agyemang (IoT Network Hub Africa)

15:45 → 16:30 Demo & Evidence Preparation

Teams prepare problem → evidence → solution → prototype → learning → next-step story

16:30 → 17:00 Day 3 Readiness Review

Output: refined prototype + user evidence + lessons + initial six-month development hypothesis

Speaker: Amina Ramallan (WACREN)

Thursday 15 October

09:30 → 10:00 Registration & Networking

Community members, partners and guests arrive

10:00 → 10:20 Women in WACREN Community Day Opening

Explain what teams were asked to achieve—and importantly what they were not expected to achieve in four days

Speaker: Abigail Essel

10:20 → 10:40 Keynote: Women, Technology & Climate Resilience

Wider context and inspiration

Speaker: Prof. Christine Ofulue (NOUN)

10:40 → 11:40 Team Prototype Demonstrations

6 teams × 12 minutes: problem, users, evidence, prototype demonstration, what they learned, what they need to prove next

11:40 → 12:10 Tea Break

12:10 → 12:40 Expert & Mentor Reflections

Structured feedback: desirability, feasibility, potential impact and key unanswered questions

12:40 → 13:10 Partner/Community Spotlights

Relevant communities and organisations; focus on resources/opportunities that could help teams

13:10 → 14:00 Panel: From the Lab to the Boardroom — Building a Leadership Path in STEM

Connect innovation activity with women's leadership and professional development

14:00 → 15:00 Lunch & Networking

15:00 → 16:00 Community Conversation

Experiences, connections, country perspectives and opportunities for collaboration

16:00 → 17:00 Commitments & Closing

Teams state what they will take forward; mentor/partner acknowledgements and closing

Speaker: Abigail Essel