GSMA launches a new innovation fund to tackle issues related to humanitarian aid.
In an effort to address humanitarian issues, the GSMA and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) have announced the creation of the newest GSMA Innovation Fund.
Since 2017, the GSMA has given approximately GBP5 million (US$6.3 million) to startups, SMEs, and social enterprises through the GSMA Innovation Fund.
The GSMA Humanitarian Innovation Fund is the organization’s most recent fund. It offers grant funding up to GBP250,000 (US$320,000) as well as additional non-financial and technical assistance to test and support innovative approaches that leverage digital technologies, particularly mobile, to address humanitarian issues in low- and middle-income nations. Natural disasters including typhoons, earthquakes, and floods, as well as food insecurity and displacement, are examples of humanitarian concerns.
The fund is also looking for solutions that use cutting-edge technology like AI and the Internet of Things to better prepare for and respond to humanitarian crises; that meet the needs of populations affected by crises, such as internally displaced people and refugees, by giving them access to services, information, and humanitarian aid; or that take already-existing innovations and modify or replicate them to meet a new humanitarian challenge.
Applications are open here until February 12, 2024.
