Deadline: 15 May 2025
The UNICEF StartUp Lab is now accepting applications for its next cohort of 25 innovative, technology-driven social impact startups.
They’re looking for bold solutions advancing Health, Education, Urban Services, WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene), Climate Action, Child Protection, Finance, Agriculture, Blockchain, Frontier Technologies (AI/ML), and Cybersecurity.
Launched in 2019, the UNICEF StartUp Lab is a six-month accelerator programme that empowers impactful startups working to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for children and young people. Established by UNICEF, supported by KOICA and implemented by MEST Africa, the program offers mentorship, funding opportunities, and market access to social impact startups across sectors like education, health, nutrition, water and sanitation, and child protection.
The UNICEF StartUp Lab also serves as a catalyst for open-source innovation, incubating Digital Public Goods that are scalable, adaptable, and designed to benefit children and communities globally. With almost 80 startups now having graduated from the programme, the Lab continues to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, building a pipeline of tech-enabled solutions that address some of Ghana’s most pressing development challenges.
Focus Areas
- Technology
- Sustainable Entrepreneurship
- Social Impact
Programme Benefits
- Participants of the UNICEF StartUp Lab will have the opportunity to;
- Collaborate and connect with UNICEF programme experts in Health & Nutrition, Education, Social Policy & Protection, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), and Child Protection
- Access UNICEF’s global network of country offices and partners to help scale your startup’s solution
- Secure up to GHS 75,000 in prototyping funding for each startup during training, and a scale-up fund of GHS 150,000 each for three startups to scale their impact
- Become UN-recognized Digital Public Good
Eligibility Criteria
- Startup must be operational for at least one year
- Startup is a registered business
- Startup has technology as the core enabler of the business
- Startups with open-source innovations are encouraged to apply
- Startup has a business model with a social impact that addresses at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Startups with female founders/co-founders are encouraged to apply
- The programme is designed to include startups from all regions in Ghana
For more information, visit UNICEF.
