Category Archives: competition

UNICEF CLIMATE INNOVATION TECH START-UPS CHALLENGE

Application Deadline: 21 October, 2025

LOCATION: Multiple Regions

UNICEF is launching a call for solutions from emerging markets in collaboration with India Health Fund (IHF), and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). To maximize impact, UNICEF will foster collaboration between early-stage frontier tech ventures and help scale proven climate adaptation solutions. This dual track approach seeks to drive impact and provide long-term sustainability. 

They also invite value-aligned partners to support innovation challenges, design sprints and deliver strategic technical assistance to build greater equity and trust across technological solutions. 

ELIGIBILITY:

Companies need to fulfil the following mandatory selection criteria to be considered:

be registered as a private for-profit company

be registered in a UNICEF programme country (See the list of eligible countries here)

have a working prototype or minimum viable product of the proposed solution, ideally, showing promising results

be open source or willing to be open source

have the potential to positively impact the lives of the most vulnerable children

generate publicly exposed real-time data that is measurable 

BENEFIT:

The UNICEF Venture Fund has been specifically designed to finance early-stage, open-source technology that can benefit children. The core motivation of the UNICEF Venture Fund is to identify “clusters,” or portfolios of initiatives around emerging technology, so that UNICEF can both shape markets and learn about and guide these technologies for children. They invest in solutions clustered around $100 billion industries in frontier technology spaces such as blockchain, virtual and augmented reality, machine learning and AI.

APPLY

NASENI INNOVATION HUB- INNOVATENAIJA CHALLENGE CALL FOR APPLICATION

Application Deadline: October 4, 2025.

LOCATION: Nigeria

Are you a young Nigerian with a homegrown, game-changing product in science, engineering, or manufacturing? Apply now for the InnovateNaija Challenge, open to Nigerians aged 15–40 nationwide, and stand a chance to win 100 million Naira.

ELIGIBILITY:

Young Nigerian innovators within the ages of 15-40 who have designed products and solutions within the science, engineering and manufacturing sector. Individuals passionate about tech, creativity and providing solutions to real-world challenges, including from the grassroots. 

Young Nigerians engaged in science, technology, engineering across the Nation

Must be a citizen of Nigeria.

Must currently reside in Nigeria (temporary visitors or students abroad are not eligible).

Open to youths of ages 15-40 

Innovative products must be at any of these stages:Prototype or Fully Developed. Products still at Idea stages are NOT eligible for the application.  

Innovative products must be within the science engineering and manufacturing sector.

Innovation must be original and created by the applicant or team.

Innovation must solve a local problem or improve community life.

Applicants can submit ideas in English or the local language with translation (if possible).

Application is open to individuals or teams. For teams, one member must be designated as the primary contact.

Applicants must be emerging talents and grassroots inventors, not fully funded startups.

Low-tech or no-tech solutions are welcome! Tech-enabled is great but not required.

Innovation must be applicable or adaptable to the Nigerian context.

Each applicant/team can only submit one innovation.

Each applicant/team must have at least an instagram handle/account. 

BENEFIT:

₦100 million for first place,

₦30 million for second place, and

₦20 million for third place.

APPLY