UNICEF Launches Funding Opportunity for FemTech Startups
The UNICEF Venture Fund is offering equity-free funding to early-stage startups developing innovative technology solutions focused on improving the lives of women and girls. The fund, which could provide up to $100,000 to successful applicants, seeks to support companies leveraging frontier technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), data science, and blockchain for social impact. This initiative aims to address the significant disparities women and girls face globally in healthcare, financial services, and economic opportunities.
UNICEF supports initiatives to improve opportunities for women and girls.
Focus on Equity and Open Source
The program encourages applications from startups in low- and middle-income economies. These companies should be developing Open Source technology aimed at enhancing 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 particularly encouraged to apply. Successful applicants will be:
- Registered in a UNICEF programme country.
- Working with a functional prototype.
- Committed to Open Source licensing and principles.
The application deadline is May 8, 2025. Find out more and APPLY NOW.
Addressing the Challenge
Technology is rapidly advancing, but these advancements don’t always benefit everyone equally. Often, available solutions are inaccessible due to factors like design, intention to exclude specific groups, and licensing or business models that shut out innovators. The funding aims to correct these imbalances:
- 31% of women globally are not in education, employment, or training.
- 740 million women in developing economies remain unbanked.
- 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.
FemTech, which generally refers to technological solutions for women’s health and wellness, is seen as key to addressing these problems. The UNICEF Venture Fund intends to identify and support solutions that extend beyond solely healthcare, addressing the social and economic drivers that shape women’s participation, agency, and well-being. Despite the sector’s potential, 75% of FemTech companies are currently based in the US or Europe, according to latest landscape reviews. The Venture Fund recognizes a need for strategic investment and coordination to break down commercial barriers and ensure global access to innovations for vulnerable and marginalized women and girls.
UNICEF working in Tajikistan.
The Opportunity
The UNICEF Venture Fund seeks to develop technologies that can radically improve the lives of children and their communities. The Fund specifically targets solutions that:
- Function in low-resource environments (with limited connectivity).
- Prioritize inclusivity, efficiency, and personalization for women and girls, including people with disabilities.
- Are offered in multiple languages (including less-common ones).
- Use unbiased and representative data, working to mitigate discrimination.
- Ensure data privacy, security, and user control.
- Enable engagement from design through maintenance of solutions.
What They Are Looking For
The fund seeks early-stage, for-profit startups using frontier technologies in three key areas:
- Improve Health Outcomes:
- 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 healthcare and culturally relevant information.
- Address Unique Challenges:
- Closing the gender data gap for inclusive decision-making.
- Improving platform accessibility for underserved communities, including persons with disabilities.
- Designing solutions that address gender-specific challenges in varying cultural and economic contexts.
- Empower Women and Girls:
- Expanding financial inclusion and economic opportunities.
- Enabling safe access to education, training, and skill-building.
- Supporting agency, decision-making power, and workforce participation.
UNICEF is actively seeking companies that use frontier technologies in innovative and scalable ways with global relevance. APPLY NOW.
Background
The UNICEF Venture Fund supports early-stage, Open Source technology that can benefit children. It identifies “clusters” or portfolios of initiatives around emerging technology and equips UNICEF to shape markets and guide the development of technology. Investments are focused on industries such as blockchain, virtual and augmented reality, machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence. UNICEF prioritizes solutions that leverage advanced technologies while adhering to strict data protection measures, and recognizes the importance of building sustainable infrastructure.
UNICEF is committed to upholding the rights of every child, ensuring that no child is denied opportunities based on any status. They maintain a strict zero-tolerance policy against discrimination, harassment, or exclusion. UNICEF promotes an inclusive environment that values diversity, treating all 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.
