Three African grassroots heroes made the UN's 2026 SDG Action Awards shortlist

Out of more than 7,000 applications from 170 countries, the UN SDG Action Campaign has named just nine finalists for its 2026 Heroes of Tomorrow awards — and three of them are African grassroots initiatives. Solar Bright Future in Cameroon turns crisis recovery into economic empowerment; Zambia's Young Emerging Farmers' Initiative builds climate resilience through youth-led farming; and Mali's Rokiatou Traore connects land restoration with livelihoods for women and smallholder farmers. The winners will be announced in Rome on October 29. The shortlist is a reminder that some of the world's most effective problem-solvers work far from any capital.