Deadline: 31-Aug-22
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), through its innovation laboratory IDB Lab, in the context of the fAIr LAC initiative, has launched an open innovation challenge to identify, pilot, and accelerate technological solutions based on artificial intelligence (AI) that contribute, through the concept of algorithmic justice, to reduce bias and discrimination based on sex and gender.
The purpose is to find solutions that contribute to the incorporation of women into the economy and society, especially for groups in poverty or vulnerable conditions.
Along with climate change, gender equality and diversity are cross-cutting pillars in IDB Lab’s work, addressed through each of the priority vertical areas outlined in IDB Group’s Vision 2025 agenda and supported through consolidation of their region’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
The proposed solutions must:
- Promote gender equality through adequate data governance and mitigation of potential biases of algorithms being used;
- Explore and harness the potential of AI and machine learning to mitigate and/or address gender gaps in the priority areas of the Challenge;
- Promote social and economic inclusion of groups in poverty or vulnerable conditions, including key indicators to measure results, and
- Design a path of scalability or replication, as well as financial sustainability.
Themes
- Health and Social Welfare
- Education, Talent, and Employment
- Financial Inclusion
- Other IDB Lab’s vertical areas
The vertical areas of IDB Lab are:
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- agriculture and natural capital;
- essential infrastructure services;
- financial inclusion;
- education, talent, and employment; and
- health.
In addition, it has transversal issues:
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- climate change; and
- gender and diversity.
Eligibility Criteria
- Companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), startups, social impact organizations, civil society organizations (NGOs, foundations), universities that develop and implement market solutions based on AI and machine learning. The solutions should contribute to economic growth, social welfare, and improvement of social health services, and education while contributing to reducing inequality.
- Category A – Geographical scope
- 26 IDB borrowing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. You can apply for the Challenge if your organization is legally registered in one of these 26 countries where the project will be implemented.
- If your organization is legally registered in one of the 48 IDB member countries, other than the 26 target countries where the project will be implemented, you can apply jointly with an organization registered and located in one of the 26 target countries where the project will be implemented: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
- Category B – Geographical scope
- Organizations legally incorporated in one of the 22 IDB non-borrowing countries that have implemented AI solutions aligned with the objectives of this Challenge but have no presence or alliances in one of the 26 IDB borrowing countries.
- Germany, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Republic of Korea, Croatia, Denmark, Slovenia, Spain, the United States, Finland, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Switzerland.
For more information, visit https://convocatorias.iadb.org/en/bid-lab/gender-and-artificial-intelligence-challenge