Applications Invited for UNICEF Innovation Fund 2021

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About the Organization:

UNICEF works in Across 190 countries and territories to protect the rights of every child, everywhere, every day, to build a better world for everyone. UNICEF has spent 70 years working to improve the lives of children and their families. Defending children's rights throughout their lives requires a global presence, aiming to produce results and understand their effects. UNICEF believes all children have a right to survive, thrive and fulfil their potential - to the benefit of a better world.

UNICEF Innovation Fund

The UNICEF Innovation Fund in partnership with the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children and Giga is looking to make up to $100K equity-free investments to provide early stage (seed) finance to for-profit technology start-ups that have the potential to benefit humanity.

If you are a start-up using machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain or extended reality, registered in one of UNICEF’s programme countries, and have a working, open source prototype (or you are willing to make it open-source) showing promising results, the UNICEF Innovation Fund is looking for you.

UNICEF invites expressions of interest to receive funding from the UNICEF Innovation Fund (IF). The Fund provides investment-style funding for early-stage, open source technology solutions that address the most pressing challenges faced by children and young people. The core motivation of the IF is to identify "clusters" or portfolios of initiatives around emerging technology, so that UNICEF can both shape markets and also learn about and guide these technologies to benefit children.

They are currently looking to invest in companies that are using machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain or extended reality (virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR)) technologies to build software solutions that respond to the four broad categories of digital risks to children: Content, Contact, Conduct and Contract Risks.

General Requirement

UNICEF is seeking companies to respond to this Expression of Interest – EOI, for open source technology solutions for children. This REOI will lead to a Request for Proposal (RFP) issued to eligible companies which will result in the establishment of Institutional Contracts with successful vendors for a period of one year.

Eligibility criteria:

UNICEF is looking to provide investment-style funding to early-stage technology startups. Only entities that fulfill these mandatory requirements will be considered eligible:

1. Registered and incorporated as a private company in a UNICEF programme country at the time of the Innovation Fund award (projected: 3 months from submission of EOI)

2. Working on open source technology solutions (or willing to be open source) under the following licenses or their equivalent:

• for software, a GNU General Public license, MIT or BSD,
• for hardware, a CERN, MIT or TAPR open license and
• for design or content, a CC-BY license

3. An existing prototype of the open source solution with promising results from initial pilots

4. Solution has the potential to positively impact the lives children and young people

5. Generating publicly exposed real-time data that is measurable

6. Developing / expanding frontier technologies, defined above, such as: blockchain, UAVs, virtual and augmented reality, nano satellites, data science, and artificial intelligence.

Deadline: 20 December 2020

For more information please check the Link