Finland and UNICEF Launch Global Investment Opportunity for Fem Tech Solutions In and For Emerging Economies

New Delhi, 07 March 2025 – Today the Embassy of Finland in New Delhi, and UNICEF launched a global call for applications from tech startups in low- and middle-income countries developing fem tech solutions.

Fem tech refers to technological solutions improving the health, wellness and socio-economic participation of women and girls. The UNICEF Venture Fund will identify and invest in these tech solutions offering grant funding and one year of mentoring. Early-stage tech start-ups developing open source solutions using cutting edge technology including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain are encouraged to apply at unicef.link/FemTechCall before 8 May 2025.

Finland is a founding partner of the UNICEF Venture Fund. The Embassy of Finland in New Delhi convened representatives of the private and public sector at an event launching the inaugural annual call for applications of the Fund’s fem tech initiative (2025-2030).

“Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and half of its potential. Investing in fem tech solutions is key to unlocking their socio-economic potential. UNICEF and Finland have a shared purpose to catalyze innovation in emerging economies like India to help accelerate progress and achieve global social impact,’ says Kimmo Lähdevirta, Ambassador of Finland to India.

As of 2023, one in five young women worldwide were married before the age of 18. Records also show that in 31 countries, about 1 in 3 girls aged 15–19 have undergone genital mutilation. Every two minutes, a woman dies from cervical cancer making it the fourth most common cancer in women but also the most preventable. On average, 31 per cent of women globally are not in education, training, or employment, the biggest gap lies within Central Asia and Southern Asia, where 45.5 per cent of women but only 14 per cent of men are not in education, training, or employment. Also, approximately 740 million women in developing economies remain unbanked, representing over 55 per cent of the total unbanked adult population in these regions. 

At a time when women and girls face systemic barriers to quality healthcare and wellness, financial services, and economic opportunities – now as ever, cutting edge solutions using the best of tech innovation must be identified, adapted and scaled to meet their needs.  

“The use of technology like AI and blockchain for social impact has the potential of changing lives at scale and closing the gap for girls and women who are still too often left behind or excluded from innovation and research. Today’s global call pushes the door wide open with an investment opportunity for innovators harnessing breakthrough technology for social impact,” says Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF Representative, India.

For 10 years the UNICEF Venture Fund has designed portfolios of initiatives around breakthrough technologies in developing economies, supporting UNICEF to shape markets, learn about and guide the use of these technologies to improve the lives of children and their communities.

“Investing in cutting edge localised solutions helps build networks of innovators and problem solvers. Strategic investment from partners like the Government of Finland enables communities, especially the most vulnerable, to identify and catalyze the change they need,” McCaffrey added.

The Fund is building on a first decade of social venture investment by doubling the impact of investments to reach more people in more countries in half the time by 2030. The support of the Ethereum Foundation, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), GSR Foundation will help make this ambition a reality.

Note to Editors

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*In 2024, The UNICEF Venture Fund conducted robust market mapping to generate evidence on fem tech solutions and markets in emerging economies by working with communities of problem-solvers, industry experts and value-minded partners. The Fund worked on capacity and ecosystem building, including by conducting three regional challenges for fem tech startups in Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, in collaboration with Gitex Global. With this evidence, the Venture Fund fem tech initiative (2025-30) will seek to invest in solutions, designed with and for women and girls, addressing disparities shaped by sex, gender and social determinants, including with annual calls for start-up applications.  

 

Background on UNICEF Venture Fund

The UNICEF Venture Fund is a unique model for equity and inclusivity in frontier tech for social impact. It makes equity-free financial and mentoring investments in startups developing open-source solutions that improve the lives of children and their communities, with an intentional lens on entrepreneurs in emerging markets and female-led and female founded startups.   

For more information, please contact:

Iiris Määttä, Second Secretary, Embassy of Finland in New Delhi, [email protected]

Alka Gupta, Communication Specialist, UNICEF India [email protected]