$100K UNICEF Equity-Free Funding Opportunity for Fem Tech Solutions : Improving the health, wellbeing and socio-economic participation of women and girls.
The UNICEF Venture Fund is calling for applications from start-ups developing cutting edge tech solutions improving access to quality health care and services, and ensuring socio-economic participation of women and girls.
The Fund is offering up to US$100K in equity-free funding to early-stage, for-profit startups leveraging frontier technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), data science, and blockchain for social impact.
Applications are open to start-ups in low- and middle-income economies developing Open Source technology that improves health outcomes, economic participation, or access to essential services for women and girls. Women-led startups and young founders (under the age of 35) are strongly encouraged to apply.
We’re especially seeking applications from companies:
- Registered in a UNICEF programme country
- Working with a functional prototype
- Committed to Open Source licensing and principles
Application Deadline: 8 May 2025
The Challenge
Technology is advancing rapidly, but at a pace that risks widening gaps between those who benefit and those who don’t. Where solutions are available, they are often inaccessible either by design or intent because the needs of diverse groups of people are not considered, and licensing and business models exclude a vast network of innovators that can adapt them to benefit disadvantaged and marginalised groups.
The need is clear:
- 31% of women worldwide are not in education, employment, or training.
- 740 million women in developing economies remain unbanked, making up 55% of the total unbanked adult population.
- Only 2% of global medical research funding is allocated to pregnancy, childbirth, and female reproductive health.
- Over 21 million adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries become pregnant each year.
Generally, fem tech refers to technological solutions that improve the health and wellness of women and girls. At a time when they continue to face systemic barriers to quality healthcare, financial services, and economic opportunities – now as ever, cutting edge solutions must be identified, adapted and scaled to meet their needs.
The UNICEF Venture Fund will identify solutions that go beyond healthcare—ones that empower women and girls holistically. This means addressing their specific needs in ways that recognize the circumstances that affect them disproportionately or differently while tackling the social and economic drivers that shape their participation, agency, and well-being.
The latest landscape reviews estimate that 75 per cent of fem tech companies are currently based in the US or Europe. Projected to be valued by at least US$97 billion 2030, the sector is regarded as undervalued and under-invested but holding vast potential to bridge equity gaps globally. The latest landscape reviews estimate that 75 per cent of FemTech companies are currently based in the US or Europe. The UNICEF Venture Fund recognizes that this market requires strategic investment and coordination to address commercial barriers for solutions and ensure that new innovations that meet the needs of women and girls are accessible to the most vulnerable and marginalized.
The Opportunity
In this context, the UNICEF Venture Fund seeks to test, validate, and shape technologies that can be accelerated to radically improve the lives of children, and their communities.
- Work in low-resource environments (e.g., low connectivity, limited smartphone access)
- Prioritize inclusivity, efficiency, and personalization for women and girls, and persons with disabilities
- Are available in multiple languages, including less-common and low-resource languages
- Use unbiased, representative data and actively mitigate discrimination
- Ensure data privacy, security, and user control over personal information
- Enable engagement in the design, management, ownership and maintenance of the solution
What we’re looking for
We are seeking early-stage, for-profit startups that use frontier technologies in three key areas:
1: To improve health outcomes for women and girls i.e
- Digital health solutions for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
- AI-driven or data-powered platforms for maternal, reproductive, and adolescent health
- On-demand referral services for access to healthcare and culturally relevant information
2: Address unique challenges faced by women and girls i.e
- Closing the gender data gap to drive inclusive decision-making
- Improving accessibility of platforms for underserved communities, including persons with disabilities
- Designing solutions that address gender-specific challenges in different cultural and economic contexts
3: Empower women and girls socially and economically i.e.
- Expanding financial inclusion and access to economic opportunities
- Enabling safe access to education, training, and skill-building
- Supporting agency, decision-making power, and workforce participation
+ We are actively seeking companies that push boundaries with frontier technologies in innovative and scalable ways with global relevance.
Background
The UNICEF Venture Fund is designed to finance early stage, Open Source technology that can benefit children. The Fund identifies “clusters” or portfolios of initiatives around emerging technology and equips UNICEF to shape markets and guide the development of technology to improve the lives of children and their communities. We invest in solutions clustered around $100 billion industries in frontier technology spaces such as blockchain, virtual and augmented reality, machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence.
At UNICEF, we prioritize solutions that not only leverage advanced technologies but also uphold strict data protection measures and safeguarding principles to prioritize the privacy and wellbeing of individuals. We also value a comprehensive approach that strengthens systems and services, recognizing the importance of building resilient and sustainable infrastructure to effectively support health and mental health initiatives, to achieve lasting positive outcomes.
Resources:
- How to apply: Read our FAQs about the process
- Eligibility criteria and selection: Read more about the scoring
- Learn from previous startups: UNICEF Venture Fund Portfolio
- Read more about the startup selection process
- What happens after you receive an investment? Portfolio Management Experience
- Questions? Please write to us here.
UNICEF is committed to upholding the rights of every child, ensuring that no child is denied opportunities based on race, ethnicity, gender, disability, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or any other status. We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination, harassment, or exclusion in all aspects of our work, including our programs, partnerships, and workplace.
UNICEF fosters an inclusive environment where diversity is valued, and all individuals are treated with fairness, dignity, and respect. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities defines living with a disability as having a long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment that – in interaction with the environment – hinders one’s participation in society on an equal basis with others.
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