Deadline: 26 February 2016
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is seeking applications for its open source technology solutions that address the most pressing challenges faced by children and young people.
UNICEF works with governments, civil society organizations, and other organizations around the world to advance children’s rights to survival, protection, health, development and participation and is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Eligible Countries
- Central & Eastern Europe & the Commonwealth of Independent States :Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
- East Asia & Pacific: Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati,Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Republic of Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam
- Eastern & Southern Africa: Botswana, Burundi, Comoros, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Republic of Swaziland, Tanzania, United Republic of Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
- Middle east & North Africa: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates
- South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
- Latin America & the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Plurinational State of Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivian Republic of)
- West & Central Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo
Focus Areas
- Products for youth under 25 address a range of needs including learning and youth participation.
- Real-time information for decision-making: allows the situation of the most vulnerable to be understood by those who have an ability to address their circumstance.
- Infrastructure to increase access to services and information, including connectivity, power finance, sensors and transport.
Grants available
UNICEF will consider applications for funding of approximately up to US$100,000.
Eligibility Criteria
- UNICEF is looking to provide investment-style funding to early-stage tech startups. Only entities that fulfill these mandatory requirements will be eligible:
- A private company/institution registered in a UNICEF programme country (mentioned above).
- Working on open source technology solutions (or willing to be open source) under the following licenses: Software: BSD, AGPL, LGPL and Content and designs: Creative Commons CC-BY-SA or CC-SA
- Projects funded need to increase the ability of children to access information and to increase opportunity and choice. Specifically, projects should align with one of UNICEF Innovation’s three portfolio areas:
- products for youth under 25 to address a range of needs including learning and youth participation
- real-time information for decision making and governance
- Infrastructure to increase access to services and information, including connectivity, power, finance, sensors and transport.
- Generating publically exposed real-time data that can be / is measured
How to Apply
Interested applicants are required to complete and submit the EOI Response form available on the given website.
For more information, Please visit Solutions for Children.
