African startups are invited to apply for a UN innovation challenge focusing on women
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have launched the Innovations to Empower Women and Girls Challenge to help scale innovative solutions that can help disrupt inequalities and advance women’s and girls’ empowerment.
The Innovations to Empower Women and Girls Challenge, the UNFPA’s first joint innovation challenge, is looking for innovative ideas that support female empowerment, maternal health, gender equality, and reproductive rights.
The challenge will fund women-centered innovations, such as those that provide affordable and sustainable access to essential reproductive health commodities, services, and information in hard-to-reach areas and humanitarian settings, as well as those that increase prevention and response to gender-based violence and harmful practices.
The challenge’s ten winners will sign a nine-month contract and receive investments of up to US$60,000. UNFPA and its partners will also provide them with targeted mentorship, lectures, interactive workshops, and access to the UN network to assist them in scaling their ideas.
Applications are being accepted here until April 15th.
