United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) Amua Accelerator Program 2017 for Young Entrepreneurs (Innovate For Sexuality)

Amua accelerator is a six-month mentorship driven acceleration project supporting young entrepreneurs with seed funding, training and skills development. The project is geared to generate innovative solutions to sexual and reproductive health related challenges.

The project is implemented with United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) in collaboration with Sahara Sparks.

Adolescent population (10-18yrs) comprised 23% of total population of Tanzania, and 18% of adolescents are currently married or living with a partner. Moreover, 28% of wom

en gave births before the age of 18 years. In Tanzania, adolescents 15-19 have higher birth rate of 116 per 1000 twice world’s average of 65 births per 1000 adolescents (UNICEF).

Some of the identified facts by UNFPA on teenage pregnancy to girls include;

1. Girls who are poor, poorly educated or living in rural areas are at greater risk of becoming pregnant than those who are wealthier, well-educated or urban.

2. Girls who lack choices and opportunities in life, or who have limited or no access to sexual and reproductive health care, are more likely to become pregnant

To tackle some of the these challenges UNFPA established the Innovation Accelerator. The

Innovation Accelerator is a mentorship-driven accelerator program supporting young entrepreneurs with seed funding, training and skills development to generate innovative solutions in response to challenges related to Sexual and Reproductive Health services, sexuality education, family planning,maternal health and other population development issues in line with UNFPA’s mandate.

The Innovation Accelerator is an initiative and model led by the UNFPA East and Southern Regional Office with aims to explore new and engaging ways to tackle pressing population challenges in the region while promoting social entrepreneurship among young people.

Programme Details:

Bootcamp

May 01 – May 14, 2017

The best 10 teams receive further intensive training, education, coaching, and mentorship to refine and develop their ideas and/or products. The last day of the bootcamp is a pitching day to select ideas for the acceleration.

Acceleration

May 22 – July 22, 2017

The best 6 teams receive further mentorship support from mentors to develop their minimum viable products. The 6 teams will be the finalists during the demo day. 4 teams from the 6 teams will receive the seed fund.

Demo Day

August 10, 2017

Teams present their ideas and the best 1-3 teams are then identified.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the UNFPA Amua Accelerator Program 2017