Deadline: 7-Feb-21
Do you have an innovative idea or solution to improve the lives of children (especially those from marginalised communities) in Uganda? If yes, then Join the UNICEF Uganda Innovation Fund Challenge with innovative concept or offering.
The UNICEF Uganda has launched an Innovation Fund Challenge to deepen participatory practices in providing innovative solutions to national social policy challenges, with a view to transform the local ecosystem by leveraging on the disruptive power of technology as a driver for inclusive and sustainable growth.
The main objective of the UNICEF Uganda Innovation Fund challenge is to provide innovative avenues to enhance UNICEF’s ability to achieve the outcomes outlined in the country programme document, and the achievement of the SDGs.
Through this initiative, they are seeking to support ideas/solutions that are focused on addressing challenges related to child protection, development and survival of children and access to basic development and adolescent development for girls and boys. You are expected to select a challenge area and problem area that you idea or solution addresses.
- The Innovation Fund Challenge provides grant funding of up-to UGX 80 Million to further validate your concept or business.
- Access to free technical assistance to realize or grow your business.
- Access to mentors and expert coaches to provide tailored support.
- Receive access to Outbox’s network to enable you to pilot or further validate your concept.
For this call, you are expected to propose solutions that:
- Enhance and improve child survival and development among newborns, children and adolescent boys and girls;
- Improve access to basic education and adolescent development for girls and boys aged 3 – 19 to achieve appropriate learning outcomes;
- Ensure that children in Uganda are free from all forms of violence abuse, neglect and exploitation – including harmful practices – and realize their right to legal identity.
Guiding Principles
To support constructive engagement, they propose that you use the following guiding principles to develop your innovative solutions:
- Advancing gender equality and empowerment for children & young people
The centrality of gender inequality and discrimination, as both a root cause and a consequence of violence against children, requires that services ensure gender sensitive and responsive policies and practices are in place. Solutions must ensure that violence will not be condoned, tolerated or perpetuated. - A Rights based approach
A human rights approach calls for solutions that prioritize the safety and wellbeing children, and treat them with dignity, respect and sensitivity. It also calls for solutions of good quality, available, accessible and acceptable to children and adolescents. - Culturally and age appropriate and sensitive
Such solutions must respond to the individual circumstances and life experiences of children and adolescents, taking into account their age, identity, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity and language preferences. - For digital products, keep in mind the UN Digital principles
UNICEF subscribes to the UN Digital principles that emphasize that while designing solutions, there is a need to understand the existing ecosystem, build for sustainability, and design with the users among others.
Eligibility Criteria
- Would applicants like to improve the lives of Ugandan children by supporting the creation of cost-effective, efficient and scalable market-driven solutions?
- Are applicants’ parts of a team of at least two people with innovative ideas that address the innovation challenge problem areas?
- Are applicants a Ugandan citizen or currently living or working in Uganda?
- Is applicant solution utilizing a frontier technology in its approach that includes data, AI, machine learning, robotics, internet of things, augmented reality, drones, blockchain, etc.?
- Have applicants risen less that 185,000,000 UGX in either grants, convertible grants, venture capital or Private Equity at the time of submission?
Selection Criteria
- All valid applications are reviewed by Judges in their respective challenge areas, and the top-scoring Finalists proceed to pitch their solutions.
- Stage 1: Shortlisted ideas
- These are ideas that make it to the last twenty (20) to pitch in-front of a panel of the advisory panel
- Stage 2: Top ideas/solutions
- These are ideas that make it to the incubation program after a pitch event.
For more information, visit https://unicef.innovationchallenge.ug/