Home Tags Posts tagged with "UNICEF Innovation Fund"
Tag:

UNICEF Innovation Fund

unicef-innovation-fund-for-ai-ml-startups
Call for Applications

UNICEF Innovation Fund 2021 for AI & ML Startups ($100K equity-free investment)

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline: 2 August 2021

The UNICEF Innovation Fund is looking to make up to $100K equity-free investments to provide early stage (seed) finance to for-profit technology start-ups that have the potential to benefit humanity. 

If you’ve got a startup using machine learning (ML), data science (DS), or artificial intelligence (AI), registered in one of UNICEF’s programme countries, and have a working, open source prototype (or you are willing to make it open source) showing promising results, the UNICEF Innovation Fund is looking for you. 

Requirements

are currently looking to invest in companies that are using machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), or data science (DS) technologies to build software solutions that respond to the following questions: 

Area 1: Are you creating platforms for personalized services? Or are you providing tools to automate processes and decision-making?  

  • Adaptive learning solutions that can support self-learning and/or enable teachers to offer greater personalization of learning 
  • Online solutions using AI for personalizing or adapting content and information in multiple languages 
  • AI-powered voice assistants and chatbots to provide personalized help and guidance, for children, teachers and healthcare workers (including community health workers and including mental health and psychosocial well-being) 
  • Software that can review trends, identify mistakes and assess performance, including but not limited to health diagnostics, automated assessments, etc. 
  • Tools for converting content into universally designed/accessible formats, such as text to speech; image to speech including predictive structure (AAC); and sign language avatars 

Area 2: Are you building tools to optimize system performance for greater access to and delivery of services? Or are you trying to use data science, machine learning or artificial intelligence techniques to generate new insights from data? 

  • Applying optimization techniques to improve service delivery (health), resource allocation (connectivity) or content delivery (education) 
  • Using ML/AI to understand the relationships between different variables that impact development indicators (i.e. learning, socio-economic, health, or infrastructure). 
  • Predictive analysis to understand changes in the world such as new patterns, risk factors or contributors to pathologies and adverse outcomes, or diagnostic protocols and models 
  • Using Natural Language Processing (NLP) or similar techniques to analyze large amounts of text, for example job market trends or predict efficiency in supply tracking and allocation of resources 

Area 3: Are you generating and curating data for any of the above?  

  • Gathering and combining existing data from different sources 
  • Generating new data through field data collection, crowdsourcing or social network platforms  
  • Building solutions to measure and monitor delivery of services (e.g. in health, education) 
  • Using novel approaches to generate, as well as to validate, large amounts of training data 

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the UNICEF Innovation Fund 2021

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
unicef-innovation-fund
Call for Applications

UNICEF Innovation Fund 2020 for Blockchain Startups ($100K equity-free investment)

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline: 11:59 PM ET July 26th, 2020

The UNICEF Innovation Fund is looking to makeup to $100K equity-free investments (in USD and/or cryptocurrency) to provide early stage (seed) financing and mentoring to for-profit technology startups that have the potential to benefit humanity.  Applicants have the opportunity to receive a portion of funding in cryptocurrency (bitcoin or ether) through our recently launched CryptoFund. Given the current global climate and a dramatic shift to a digital world as a result of COVID-19, open-source solutions that address critical needs for society are as important as ever.

Requirements

UNICEF Innovation Fund are currently looking to invest in companies developing blockchain-based software solutions. Examples of areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

Finance

Financing enables individual people to participate in and contribute to various ecosystems.

Connect

Around the world, groups work together to deliver services. Increased transparency and accountability in these processes lead to better results

Empower

UNICEF supports the creation of open source software to ultimately enable communities with new tools.

Benefits

Seed funding

The Fund provides up to $100,000 in equity-free seed funding, in USD. The investment is intended for prototype testing and validation, and to get it to a stage where the company has proof that the solution works.

Crypto funding

Selected startups also have the opportunity to receive part of their funding in cryptocurrency. The UNICEF CryptoFund disburses funds in both bitcoin and ether.

Business Growth

The Fund taps into a network of mentors who help startup teams develop their business model and strategy to grow their company and ultimately profit.

Networks and platforms

UNICEF Ventures has a blockchain and computer science team with access to corporate partnerships and use cases that selected blockchain start-ups can benefit from.

Product and Technology Development

Investee’s receive technical assistance from the UNICEF Ventures team and dedicated expert mentors to help validate and improve their solutions.

Maximize impact

As the world’s leading organisation for children, UNICEF has a network of experts and partners across its Country Offices who can provide localized advice and partnerships needed to reach more users

How to Apply

Step 1) Check the general eligibility criteria:

  • You must be registered as a private company in a UNICEF programme country;
  • You are working on open source technology solutions or willing to be open-source under the following licenses or their equivalent: BSD, GNU, MIT (software), CERN, MIT, TAPR (hardware), or CC-BY (content);
  • You have an existing prototype of the solution with promising results from initial pilots;
  • Your solution has the potential to positively impact the lives of children.

Step 2) Read the full Request for Expressions of Interest document and FAQs

  • Read the full Request for Expressions of Interest (REOI) document to understand the submission process and to learn more about the kinds of projects that qualify and how the scoring will be done;
  • Read the FAQs;
  • For any other questions, please submit through the form here.

Step 3) SUBMIT

  • Submit your expression of interest by completing the form.
  • All submissions must be made in English. If you wish to preview the questions to prepare your submission, view/download this PDF.
  • To support your preparation, please note that the submission form also asks for a link to a 2-min pitch video. Detailed instructions can be found in the form.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the UNICEF Funding Opportunity for Blockchain Startups

3 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
unicef-innovation-fund
Call for Applications

UNICEF Innovation Fund Request for Expression of Interest (EOI) for Open source Technology Solutions for Children.

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline: January 1st 2017

The UNICEF Innovation Fund is a pooled funding vehicle to quickly assess, fund and grow open-source solutions that have been developed in new and emerging markets.

UNICEF invites expressions of interest to receive funding that will be made available through the UNICEF Innovation Fund (IF). The Fund provides investment-style funding for early-stage, open source technology solutions that address the most pressing challenges faced by children and young people.

The core motivation of the IF is to identify “clusters” or portfolios of initiatives around emerging technology, so that UNICEF can both shape markets and also learn about and guide these technologies to benefit children. Expressions of interest are invited from companies registered in UNICEF’s programme countries.

unicef-innovation-fund-2016

Eligibility criteria:
UNICEF is looking to provide investment-style funding to early-stage technology startups. Only entities that fulfill these mandatory requirements will be considered eligible:
● Registered as a private company
● A private company registered in a UNICEF programme country
● Working on open source technology solutions (or willing to be open source) under the following licenses or their equivalent:
(i) for software, a BSD license,
(ii) for hardware, a CERN license and
(iii) for design or content, a CC-BY license
● An existing prototype of the open source solution with promising results from initial pilots
● Solution has the potential to positively impact the lives of the most vulnerable children
● Generating publicly exposed real-time data that is measurable

Submission of expression of interest

  • Interested companies that meet the eligibility criteria are required to complete and submit the EOI
  • Response form and provide the information and supporting documents indicated in the form.
  • EOIs Response forms must be submitted through www.unicefinnovationfund.org not later than 1 January 2017 23:59hrs EST.
  • This REOI does not constitute a solicitation. UNICEF does not require bids or proposals at this stage; this request is merely seeking an expression of interest in participating in the tender.

For More Information:

Visit the Official webpage of the UNICEF Innovation Fund Request for Expression of Interest (EOI)

2 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Call for Applications

UNICEF Innovation Fund 2016 for Open Source Technologies for Children

by OFA
written by OFA

Application Deadline: 1800hrs (Eastern Standard Time) on 26 February 2016.

The purpose of the UNICEF Innovation Fund is to invest in open source technologies for children. The Fund has raised $9 million so far and offers innovators in developing countries a pooled funding mechanism to help them take their tested projects to the next stage. The Fund brings together models of financing and methodologies used by venture capital funds and the principles of UNICEF’S award-winning Innovation Unit.

UNICEF works with governments, civil society organizations, and other organizations around the world to advance children’s rights to survival, protection, health, development and participation and is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

UNICEF invites expressions of interest to receive funding that will be made available through the UNICEF Innovation Fund. The Fund provides investment-style funding for early-stage, open source technology solutions that address the most pressing challenges faced by children and young people. Expressions of interest are invited from companies/institutions registered in UNICEF’s programme countries. Interested companies must meet the criteria required to be eligible  for funding as detailed below.

The Fund does not help large companies to create new business lines. The purpose of the Innovation Fund is to support new solutions from small businesses in markets that many companies or investors consider risky while UNICEF sees these markets as sources of opportunity. UNICEF will support companies registered in these markets in UNICEF’s programme countries- with a small amount of money to move solutions to the stage where these are proven to be workable and can be implemented.

Eligibility criteria:
UNICEF is looking to provide investment-style funding to early-stage tech startups. Only entities that fulfill these mandatory requirements will be eligible:

●        A private company/institution registered in a UNICEF programme country (see list here)
●        Working on open source technology solutions (or willing to be open source) under the following licenses:

Software: BSD, AGPL, LGPL
Content and designs: Creative Commons CC-BY-SA or CC-SA
●        Projects funded need to increase the ability of children to access information and to increase opportunity and choice.  Specifically, projects should align with one of UNICEF Innovation’s three portfolio areas:

  1. products for youth under 25 to address a range of needs including learning and youth participation
  2. real-time information for decision making and governance
  3. infrastructure to increase access to services and information, including connectivity, power, finance, sensors and transport.

●        Generating publically exposed real-time data that can be / is measured

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the UNICEF Innovation Fund 2016

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail