UNICEF StartUp Lab
Accelerator Programme
ABOUT THE ACCELERATOR PROGRAMME
The UNICEF StartUp Lab is a six-month tech accelerator programme for impactful startups and businesses working to advance the Sustainable Development Goals for children and young people across several sectors, including education, health and nutrition, Water Sanitation and hygiene, and child protection.
HOW WE SUPPORT OUR STARTUPS
The UNICEF Startup Lab accelerates innovative, market-driven, transformative solutions developed by young Ghanaian businesses that aim to address some of the most complex challenges affecting the well-being of children and young people around the world, particularly the most vulnerable.
Funding
Access GHS 75,000 prototyping and GHS 150,000 scale-up funding opportunities for three startups.
Growth
Intense, hands-on business acceleration for startups & business to amplify their impact in Ghana and beyond.
Investment
Networking and investment opportunities for participants and alumni, not limited to the UNICEF Venture Fund.
Resources
Linkages and engagements with KOICA and other development partners; Tech perks including AWS cloud storage credits.
Partnerships
Connect and collaborate with UNICEF programmes including Health, Education, WASH, and Social Protection.
Impact
Opportunity to refine your solution to be a social impact fit and become a UN-recognized Digital Public Good (DPG).
Digital Public Goods: Supporting market-driven open-source solutions
The UNICEF StartUp Lab serves as the central hub for discovering and developing Digital Public Goods (DPGs) in Ghana. This initiative is in line with the UN Secretary-General's Roadmap for Digital Cooperation and is backed by the UNICEF Office of Innovation to promote the DPG agenda in the country.
In 2021, one of the UNICEF StartUp Lab’s graduates was officially registered as a DPG by the Digital Public Goods Alliance, the first DPG registration recognized from a startup in West Africa. Since then, four startups from the lab have become registered Digital Public Goods from Ghana.
OUR CONTRIBUTION TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE SDGs
We have five years to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and we’re committed to making it happen.
The UNICEF Startup Lab supports tech-enabled startups and initiatives that address these challenges, maximizing their positive impact on children and young people. Join us in driving progress towards the SDGs.
UNICEF Invites Applications for Sixth Cohort of UNICEF StartUp Lab
UNICEF Ghana is inviting applications for the sixth (6th) cohort of the UNICEF StartUp Lab, calling on innovative, technology-driven startups and social enterprises advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for children and young people.
The six-month accelerator programme supports high-potential social impact startups leveraging technology to address critical challenges across key sectors, including Education, Health, Nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Child Protection, Climate Action, Financial Inclusion (FinTech), Agritech, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI/ML), Frontier Technologies, and Cybersecurity.
Since its launch in 2019, the UNICEF StartUp Lab has supported 103 startups across five cohorts, contributing towards Ghana’s innovation ecosystem and delivering scalable, tech-enabled solutions that improve outcomes for children and young people nationwide.
Beyond acceleration and funding, the UNICEF StartUp Lab also serves as a catalyst for open-source innovation, incubating Digital Public Goods (DPGs) that are scalable, adaptable, and designed to deliver public value for children and communities globally.
| Support for Selected Startups |
Startups selected for Cohort 6 will benefit from:
Women-led startups and youth-led ventures are especially encouraged to apply. |
| Eligibility Criteria |
Applicants must:
Priority will be given to those with demonstrated traction and currently in the growth or scaling-impact phase. |
| How to Apply |
Interested high-impact, tech-enabled startups can apply online via:
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