NEW YORK, 1 February 2016 - UNICEF is inviting tech start-ups dedicated to developing solutions to improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable children to apply for funding from its newly launched innovation fund.
"The goal of the UNICEF innovation fund is to invest in open source technologies for children," said Christopher Fabian, co-director of UNICEF's innovation arm. "We're going to identify opportunities in different countries around the world, including some that don't typically receive a lot of capital investment in technology start-ups. We hope to identify communities of problem solvers and help them develop simple solutions to some of the most pressing issues children face.
To be eligible for funding, projects must be open source and have a working prototype. This can be the development of a new technology, or the extension or improvement of an existing one.
The UNICEF Innovation Fund, which has raised $9 million to date, offers innovators in developing countries a blended funding mechanism to help them launch the next stage of their products once they have passed the first tests. The fund focuses its investments in three areas:
- Products for young people under 25 that address a range of needs, such as learning and participation;
- Real-time information for decision making; and
- Infrastructure to increase access to services and information, including connectivity, power, financing, sensors and transportation.
"These three spheres are ripe for investment due to rapidly evolving technologies such as blockchain, 3D printing, personal accessories and sensors, artificial intelligence and renewable energy," Fabian said.
Applications will be evaluated on a number of criteria including the strength of the team, the relevance of the project to children and the ability to see the potential future value in creating open source intellectual property.
UNICEF's innovation arm has previously invested in technology solutions, such as RapidSMS, RapidPro and U-Report, which now reach millions of users.
Expressions of interest must be submitted no later than 26 February 2016.
For more information, visit www.unicefinnovationfund.org.
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