UNICEF REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (REOI) FOR OPEN SOURCE TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS FOR CHILDREN

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.

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