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UNICEF Innovation Fund Graduate Startups

UNICEF’s Innovation Fund invests in frontier technology, open-source Digital Public Goods with the potential to impact children on a global scale

Bashar, 11, grins while using a laptop computer at a UNICEF supported Makani centre in the Za’atari camp for Syrian refugees, in Mafraq Governorate, near the Syrian border.

The UNICEF Innovation Fund is proud to see our 2019 cohort of thirteen investments graduate from the Fund. 

They’ve come a long way – from numerous product iterations to deep diving into understanding their respective ecosystems better, strengthening their business models, and gearing up to take their solution to market. They’re now ready to collaborate at a larger scale – as they find new pathways to work with partners, investors, and the open source community.   

Over the course of the investment period, our largest round of investments to date have achieved notable success along the journey, some highlights of recognition across the portfolio include: 

  • Conative Labs finishing third in the AgriPitch Competition hosted by the African Development Bank;
  • Hailing from Guatemala, Afinidata, a female-led company will represent Latin America at the annual Seedstars Summit 2020;
  • Afinidata also secured funding to conduct an Randomized Control Trial in Peru to generate evidence of impact in a Multi-Investigator Project; and
  • Three companies in the blockchain portfolio were shortlisted for Newsweek's Blockchain Impact Awards in 2019. 

Below are their stories: 

ICT students at Dandora Greenlight Vocational Training Centre.
UNICEF/UNI284505/Chinyenze ICT students at Dandora Greenlight Vocational Training Centre.

Data Science & Artificial Intelligence Portfolio

The 2019 portfolio of startups are utilizing sophisticated applications of data science, machine learning, and AI to understand the digital and physical world we live in; generating critical insights to better inform the programmatic areas UNICEF works in.

  • Afinidata (Guatemala) uses artificial intelligence to provide parents with a personal assistant that guides them with personalized and effortless early-childhood activities.
  • Avyantra (India) addresses the early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis by applying a machine learning model that captures data of newborns with neonatal sepsis conditions and their associated treatments.
Seeta Devi interacts with her newborn child after she feeds the child inside her hamlet in Shrawasti, Uttar Pradesh.
UNICEF/UN0281003/Vishwanathan Seeta Devi interacts with her newborn child after she feeds the child inside her hamlet in Shrawasti, Uttar Pradesh.

Blockchain Portfolio

These startups are each working on leveraging the technology to improve organizational efficiencies, streamline decision-making processes and build transparent workflows. 

In 2019, UNICEF, apart from investing in USD currency, is now also able to receive, hold and disburse donations of cryptocurrencies ether and bitcoin, through its newly established UNICEF Cryptocurrency Fund. 

  • Atix Labs (Argentina) developed a blockchain-enabled social impact funding platform that matches small to medium-sized enterprises to funders across the world. 
  • Coinsence (Tunisia) incentivizes local communities to collaborate on social impact causes via a platform that enables users to create their own impact tokens to mobilize resources.
  • OS City (Mexico) developed an open source digital certification solution using blockchain technology to increase transparency, preserve data integrity and accelerate the use of portable records. 
Letícia Gomes speaks with a group of teenagers as part of her peer-to-peer education work.
UNICEF/UN0341608/Pinheiro
  • Prescrypto (Mexico) have developed RexChain, a healthcare blockchain designed to guarantee portability of sensitive clinical data in a secure and private way.
  • StaTwig (India) addresses supply chain inefficiencies via a platform that tracks the delivery of vaccines from manufacturer to child. 
  • W3 Engineers (Bangladesh) is working to bring internet connectivity to unconnected people using a blockchain and mesh networking-based solution. 

Virtual and Augmented Reality Portfolio

The four graduating companies are poised to solve real problems, in areas such as health and education, teach the language of VR/AR and increase the access to VR/AR solutions utilizing WebVR based solutions. 

  • Imisi 3D (Nigeria) develops educational content designed according to curriculum needs and connectivity constraints of schools in Nigeria.
  • NubianVR (Ghana) is focused on improving how students can learn by creating immersive learning experiences in Virtual and Augmented Reality. 
A student testing a Nubian VR headset during a school exhibition.
NubianVR A student testing a Nubian VR headset during a school exhibition. The NubianVR team researched to understand the challenges of the current teaching and learning processes to unearth the impacts of VR in driving the learning experience in Ghanaian secondary schools.
  • Veative Labs (India) has open sourced virtual reality learning modules and made it available to access via WebVR, increasing accessibility and reducing costs of using the technology.
  • Utopic Studio (Chile) uses virtual reality games that have been specifically tailored to increase children's motivation while assessing their reading skills. 

IoT Portfolio

The Innovation Fund is exploring how IoT technology can be used to assess and improve access to clean water. 

  • Conative Labs (Egypt) has developed an IoT water quality and monitoring system, aiming to better utilize water resources in the MENA region.  
A school girl in Minya happy with the newly-installed water tap it her school.
UNICEF/UNI303954/Younis A school girl in Minya happy with the newly-installed water tap it her school.

About the UNICEF Innovation Fund

UNICEF’s Innovation Fund invests up to $100k in early stage, open-source, emerging technology digital public goods with the potential to impact children on a global scale. It also provides product and technology assistance, support with business growth, access to a network of experts and partners to allow for scale and growth. The investments can go either to UNICEF Country Offices or to private sector companies in UNICEF programme countries.