WFP Digital Health Innovation Accelerator Program 2022/2023 for startups and Innovators (USD $250,000 in equity-free funding)

Application Deadline: 11 September 2022, 11:59 p.m. (CEST)

The Digital Health Innovation Accelerator Program (DHIAP) is in search of scalable digital solutions using open standards and approaches towards the creation of global goods. The solutions must have a focus on building and supporting pandemic preparedness capabilities and speeding up demand-driven vaccine distribution and the recovery of communities and health systems in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Togo. 

DHIAP will select mature start-ups and solution providers that already have a presence in any of the target countries. These innovators will receive financial, technical, and methodological support from the WFP Innovation Accelerator and other partners as they enter the six-month WFP Sprint Programme. 

DHIAP, which was launched in 2021, is powered by the WFP Innovation Accelerator and BMZ digilab – the innovation lab for digital solutions, initiated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in collaboration with GIZ, the German Development Bank KfW, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Requirements:

WFP is looking for digitally-powered solutions that can contribute to building pandemic preparedness capabilities in selected countries: Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Togo. Please refer to the country-specific Call for Innovation overview documents for more details on the application topics, as well as solutions’ desired features, capabilities and any additional requirements. 

Please note that the priority application topics are country specific, however if you feel your solution can contribute towards building and supporting pandemic preparedness capabilities  in aforementioned countries, yet does not strictly fall under one of the specified priority application topics, you are still welcome to apply.

Eligibility Criteria

• Your organization must be an established legal entity (for-profit, non for profit, social enterprise) for at least 2 years.
• Your solution should demonstrate adherence to the principles for digital development 
• The proposed solution should be or work towards creating a digital public global good (i.e., follow open standards, open-source or open data approaches).
• The developed or implemented solution should preferably use data and information exchange mechanisms based on global standards (e.g. openHIE). 
• The solutions should be interoperable with other existing systems, including, but not limited to national health management information systems. 
• The applicant organization should already have a presence in the country of implementation (country office or other permanent presence, subsidiary, long-term operations, or partnerships in the country, ideally with the relevant Public Health government agencies), and would ideally have the buy-in from national, regional, or local governments.

• Your innovation ideally addresses one or more of the specified priority country-specific topics, or, if not, it can still contribute towards building and supporting pandemic preparedness capabilities in aforementioned countries.
• Your innovation should have a demonstrated proof-of-concept with initial traction and a clear path to scale (capacity to be adapted, expanded, replicated or scaled).
• Your solution should be able to demonstrate inclusion of, or focus on, supporting or increasing access for: women, marginalized or underserved communities, mobile populations, people with disabilities, and high-risk groups vulnerable to COVID-19. 

Benefits

Hands-on support & access to network

Selected ventures will be invited to participate in a fully virtual WFP Innovation Bootcamp in November 2022.

Funding, coaching & mentorship

Selected ventures will be invited to apply to the WFP Sprint Programme – a six-month acceleration program with access to up to US$ 250,000 in equity-free funding, coaching, and mentorship support from a global network of relevant partners in the public health space.  

Scaling

 Mature solutions that have proven their concept, scale, and value for social impact may qualify for further funding and support. 

Timeline:

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the WFP Digital Health Innovation Accelerator Program 2022