UX & community: women in West African climate tech
Like CATAL1.5°T’s work in Latin America, but with a distinct regional approach, the Iinitiative is now deepening its engagement with female entrepreneurs in climate tech across West Africa. As in many parts of the world, women remain underrepresented in the region’s entrepreneurial landscape.
To help close this gap, CATAL1.5°T is expanding its support by launching a new cohort of the UX in Climate programme in 2025 and preparing the mid-year launch of the Female Change Maker Community -– an alumni network dedicated to female entrepreneurs.
These two initiatives will offer women not only access to expert guidance and training, but also the peer support and networks that are essential to build and scale climate solutions in the region.
Scaling UX in Climate
UX (User Experience) in climate tech refers to designing products and services that are intuitive, accessible, and aligned with the real needs of users (such as farmers, households, local communities) affected by climate challenges. It helps ensure that climate solutions are not only technically sound but also widely adopted and impactful.
Piloted in 2024 across Benin, Togo, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire, the UX in Climate programme introduced participants to user-centred design for climate innovation. Through hands-on workshops, expert feedback, and a regional peer network, 83 women developed project ideas tailored to local challenges, resulting in 16 promising solutions. Notably, 75% of participants expressed their intention to continue developing their ideas, many of them aiming to apply to the CATAL1.5°T pre-acceleration programme.
Given this success, the 2025 cohort is now underway, welcoming a new group of female entrepreneurs ready to turn community insight into scalable innovation.
A community of female change makers
To complement the technical and design training, CATAL1.5°T will also launch the Female Change Maker Community in mid-2025. This regional network will serve as a long-term support system for female alumni and participants, offering:
- Mentorship and peer exchange with experienced women entrepreneurs
- Access to networks of investors, experts, and fellow founders
- Skill development through targeted business and technical training
The community aims to strengthen collaboration, amplify visibility, and ensure that women entrepreneurs are supported well beyond the programme itself.
With the new cohort of UX in Climate underway and the upcoming launch of the Female Change Maker Community, CATAL1.5°T is taking the next steps to build a more connected, capable, and confident generation of women climate entrepreneurs in West Africa.
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