Deadline: 17 September 2017
Do you have a Virtual or Augmented reality solution that can help improve children’s lives? Is yes, then apply for UNICEF Innovation Fund.
Applications open for “UNICEF Innovation Fund” which is looking for start-ups that are developing and piloting new open source VR/AR solutions.
VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) technologies can be used to solve real human problems. By providing new, immersive ways of accessing data they can enhance our learning experience, expand understanding of complex systems and improve how to interact with one another.
The UNICEF Innovation Fund is looking to make investments in:
- software for authoring or consuming these new realities,
- platforms and ways providing wider access to that software,
- platforms and ways providing better tools for content creation (such as a template, workflow, or format), and
- particular applications of content.
For next VR/AR cohort of investees the fund is particularly interested in the following applications of content:
- Learning: Teaching people to perform simple tasks, in many languages, with higher retention rates and better motivational levels (examples: how to install a water pump; how to recognize malnutrition in under 5-year-olds; how to teach seamstresses to perform simple procedures). VR/AR also presents new ways of increasing access to experiential learning, including for people with disabilities.
- Understanding complex environments: Accessing large amounts of data and deciphering them in a better way. Getting a simple picture from a complex collection of data points (examples: converting history of GIS data points from refugee camps into a VR environment for better planning; improving situational awareness for emergency responders).
- New ways of storytelling: Undiscovered ways of using VR/AR to tell a story, especially by bridging cross-cultural gaps and creating a dialogue.
Benefits
- Seed funding: The Fund provides $50-90,000 in equity-free seed funding.
- Product and technology development: Receiving investment from the Innovation Fund also provides access to the UNICEF Innovation Ventures team. The team provides technical assistance in emerging technology areas, which is accessible to companies receiving investment.
- Growing your business: The UNICEF Venture Fund taps into a network of mentors and advisers who can help to develop business model and strategy.
- Maximising impact for children: As the world’s leading organisation for children, UNICEF has experts across its Country Offices and partners who can advise on the development of your solution, how to assess its impact and partnerships needed to reach more users.
Eligibility Criteria
Start-ups registered in one of UNICEF’s programme countries and have a working, open source prototype (hardware, content or software).
How to Apply
Applications must be submitted online via given website.
Eligible Countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Plurinational State of, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of, Kosovo under UNSC res. 1244, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia (The former Yugoslav Republic of), Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Republic of, Mauritania, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Occupied Palestinian Territory, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Republic of, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, United Republic of, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela (Bolivian Republic of), Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
For more information, please visit UNICEF Innovation Fund.