UNICEF Venture Fund: Driving Gender-Responsive Innovation in Asia and MENA

The UNICEF Venture Fund is committed to diversity and inclusion in early-stage investing, supporting startups utilizing cutting-edge technologies like AI, machine learning, blockchain, data science, and extended reality. The Fund focuses on innovations that address the unmet needs of marginalized and underserved children and their families.

In partnership with GITEX Asia and GITEX Global, the Venture Fund has launched the Gender-Responsive Innovation Challenge (GRIC) for the Asia and MENA regions. This initiative aims to tackle structural barriers in the tech sector by fostering inclusive, gender-responsive solutions in three key areas:

1. Investing in diverse and underrepresented founders, particularly women.
2. Increasing access to digital products and services that meet the needs of vulnerable populations, including women, children, people with disabilities, and refugees.
3. Facilitating inclusive user design to reduce bias and improve accessibility.

The GRIC seeks to identify and invest in companies developing solutions that help close the gender gap. Five companies will be selected, receiving mentorship, technical assistance, and over 10 hours of guidance in Open Source, diversity, and privacy. Winners will be announced at GITEX Global in Dubai, October 14-18, 2024.

The UNICEF Venture Fund prioritizes frontier technologies that accelerate results for children, especially in low-resource environments, while ensuring privacy and safeguarding principles. By supporting gender-responsive innovation, the Fund continues to create sustainable, inclusive tech solutions for vulnerable populations.

More info here.