UNICEF StartUp Lab Accepting Applications for Cohort (5) Five
Innovation in Ghana
Accra, Ghana – April 22, 2025 – UNICEF invites applications from bold, innovative, and tech-driven social impact businesses and startups to join its fifth (5) UNICEF StartUp Lab programme cohort.
This year’s cohort will focus on ventures addressing critical challenges in Health, Education, Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), Child Protection, urban services, Climate Action, Child Protection, Fintech, Agritech, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI/ML), Frontier Technologies, and Cybersecurity.
UNICEF Startup Lab, launched in 2019, is a six (6) -month accelerator programme for impactful startups and businesses working to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for children and young people across several sectors.
Nearly eighty (80) startups have graduated from four cohorts, impacting over 200,000 children in Ghana. The initiative is supported through the UNICEF-KOICA partnership, “Accelerating Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Ghana”.
The UNICEF StartUp Lab also catalyzes open-source innovation, incubating Digital Public Goods that are scalable, adaptable, and designed to benefit children and communities globally.
Startups selected for the fifth (5) cohort will benefit from a wide range of opportunities and resources, including:
- Direct engagement with UNICEF programme experts across key sectors
- Industry-led training, mentorship, and hands-on support
- Access to UNICEF’s global network of Country Offices and partners
- Opportunities to engage with KOICA in Ghana
- Up to GHS 75,000 in funding for prototyping
- GHS 150,000 scale-up funding for 3 top-performing startups
- Pathway to become a UN-recognized Digital Public Good
In addition to funding and mentorship, the UNICEF StartUp Lab connects startups to national and international markets, investors, and opportunities through initiatives such as the UNICEF Venture Fund and the Digital Public Goods Alliance.
Applications for the fifth cohort are now open at: https://www.unicef.org/ghana/unicef-startup-lab
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About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work, visit: www.unicef.org
