Women-In-WACREN Call for Mentors
Mentor Profile
Women-in-WACREN is looking for mentors to volunteer to support teams in the Climate Innovation Lab 2026 as they build and refine digital solutions to climate challenges in West and Central Africa.
Mentors contribute during the Lab itself and/or through the six-month post-Lab Community of Practice and Solution Mentorship programme.
Areas of expertise
We're looking for practical experience in one or more of these:
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Climate change, environmental science, adaptation or mitigation
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Software development and solution architecture
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Artificial intelligence and data science
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GIS and Earth observation
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IoT, sensors and environmental monitoring
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User experience and human-centred design
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Entrepreneurship, business models and sustainability
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Product development and deployment
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Institutional adoption and partnerships
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Monitoring, evaluation and impact
What mentors will do
This varies by team, but mentors can expect to:
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Give specialist technical or domain advice.
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Review solution concepts and prototypes.
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Help teams spot technical or implementation challenges early.
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Connect teams to useful tools, data, expertise or networks.
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Advise on testing, deployment and adoption.
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Help teams build realistic technical and implementation roadmaps.
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Check in periodically as solutions develop after the Lab.
What’s in it for you
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Visibility and Recognition
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Expanded Professional Network
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Leadership Development
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Certificate/Formal Acknowledgment
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Sponsorship for in-person participation at the innovation lab
Who we're looking for
Mentors can come from universities, research institutions, NRENs, government, industry, innovation hubs, civil society or development organisations.
What matters most is relevant, practical experience, ease working across multidisciplinary teams, and the ability to give honest guidance while letting participants keep ownership of their solutions.
Mentors don't need to be trainers or facilitators. The point is to make the right expertise available to teams exactly when they need it.
Application Deadline: September 15, 2026
Selection Notification: September 21, 2026