UNICEF Innovation Fund – Up to $90k in Equity-Free Funding

The Innovation Fund allows UNICEF to quickly assess, fund and grow open-source solutions that can improve children’s lives. Financial and technological support is available for companies that are using technology in innovative ways to improve the world. The UNICEF Innovation Fund – will provide selected startups with between $50,000 and $90,000 in equity-free funding. 

The UNICEF Innovation Fund is seeking open-source projects that have already been started – you’ve been running it for a while – it shows some positive indicators – but you need funding to take it to a level where it can really attract additional investment and funding by generating real data.

You might need a small amount of money to get your prototype to the stage where the company has proof that the solution works for other people. Maybe another developer or two are needed, design help to communicate what the project can do or some server space. Refactoring something into a new language because the initial one won’t scale. Testing it in a new area. Getting some data points.

The UNICEF Innovation Fund can help with these kinds of investments up to $90,000 to support the acceleration of your company’s work. The next stage after that proof would be going for more funding (this could be private sector investment or grant-funding, or other; depending on the type of technology and solution.)

Eligibility: 

• You must be registered as a private company
• Your company/institution must be registered in a UNICEF program country
• You’re 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,
• You have an existing prototype of the open source solution with promising results from initial pilots.
• Your solution has the potential to positively impact the lives of the most vulnerable children.
• Your project generates publicly-exposed real-time data that can be/is measured.

Apply here: UNICEF Innovation Fund