UNICEF Femtech Ventures gives up to US$100,000 in funding to companies that build open-source technology for the health, wellbeing and rights of girls and women. Selected companies also receive 12 months of technical mentorship and access to UNICEF's global network. Applications close on 04 November 2026. At Youth Works Hub, we went through the call page, the online application form and UNICEF's eligibility guidelines, and every condition is set out below.
UNICEF Femtech Ventures at a Glance
🏛️ Run by: the UNICEF Venture Fund
📆 Initiative: a five-year programme, 2025 to 2030
🔁 This call: the second annual call for applications
💵 Funding: up to US$100,000 per selected company
🧭 Mentorship: 12 months of technical mentorship
🏢 Who applies: companies, not individuals
🗺️ Where: companies registered in a UNICEF programme country
🧪 Stage: a functional prototype is needed
🔓 Approach: open-source licensing and principles
🗓️ Deadline: 04 November 2026, 11:59 PM CET
📝 How to apply: an online form, in English
What Is the Second Femtech Ventures Call About?
UNICEF Femtech Ventures looks for companies that build open-source frontier technology for the health, wellbeing, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of girls and women. The initiative runs from 2025 to 2030 and is led by the UNICEF Venture Fund. This is the second annual cohort. The call names the Government of Sweden, GSR Foundation and Temasek Foundation as partners. The first cohort included 11 companies from eight countries in Africa and Asia.
What Selected Companies Receive
💎 Funding of up to US$100,000
🎓 12 months of technical mentorship
🌐 Access to UNICEF's global network, including relationships with governments, to help solutions scale
🤝 Support from UNICEF country offices for pilots and long-term agreements
How the Funding Works
🆓 The funding is equity-free. UNICEF takes no shares in your company.
📑 Payment is made in two or three instalments, based on the work plan.
🔬 The money is meant to test your prototype, validate it, and show that the solution and the business model work.
📣 Everything built with the funding must be open source and publicly available.
The 12 Months of Technical Mentorship
Mentorship is shaped around a needs analysis of each company. Two kinds of support are available:
🛠️ Technical: software, data security and privacy, AI and data science, and open source
📈 Strategic: business development, proof of impact, and product design
UNICEF Network, Pilots and Portfolios
🏙️ Pilots with UNICEF country offices, so your solution can be tested in real programmes
📜 Long-term agreements (LTAs) with UNICEF
🗂️ Access to the Global Innovation Portfolios
🏛️ Government relationships inside UNICEF's global network
Who Can Apply? The Core Requirements
The call page asks for companies that are:
🌍 Registered in a UNICEF programme country
🧪 Holding a functional prototype
🔓 Committed to open-source licensing and principles
The application form adds that the company must be a private for-profit company, and that the application must be written in English.
Companies Apply, Not Individuals
This call is open to companies, not to individuals. The form asks whether your company is registered as a private for-profit company, and it asks for the year the company was founded, its web page and a contact person. If you do not meet the minimum conditions, the form tells you: "Your company is not eligible."
Which Countries Count? The Country of Registration
What matters is the country where your company is legally registered. The form asks you to choose it from the UNICEF programme country list. The nationality of the founders is not the condition. The full list of eligible countries and territories is in the Eligible Countries list at the end of this page, and UNICEF's own PDF of programme countries is in the Links section.
The Open-Source Rule in Detail
Your solution must be open source, or your company must be willing to open source it. The form asks you to pick one answer: Yes, No but willing to open source, or No. UNICEF's guidelines name these licence families:
💻 Software: GNU GPL, MIT or BSD
🔧 Hardware: CERN, MIT or TAPR
🎨 Design and content: CC-BY
All code, content and hardware developed with the funding must be open source and public. UNICEF explains its approach in a page called "UNICEF's open source approach to innovation", linked in the Links section.
A Working Prototype with Promising Pilot Results
The guidelines ask for a prototype with promising pilot results. In the form you describe the technical status, what you still need to run a pilot, and your prototype or test results. The prototype and its results are part of what UNICEF scores.
Women-Led Teams and Founders Under 35
👩 Women-led and women-founded startups are strongly encouraged to apply.
🧑 Founders under 35 (youth-led startups) are strongly encouraged to apply.
📋 The form asks if you have a woman founder or co-founder, and if you have a leader under 35, and it asks for their names.
Technologies UNICEF Wants to See
🤖 Artificial intelligence and machine learning
⛓️ Blockchain
📊 Data science
✨ Frontier tech, such as generative and agentic AI
🏕️ Solutions that are ready for low-resource or emergency settings
Safety by Design Is a Condition of Investment
UNICEF treats safety by design as a condition of investment. This covers data privacy, consent and user risk. If your product handles sensitive health data, plan for these points from the first version.
Pillar 1: Healthcare Access for Women and Girls
📟 Point-of-care tools with automated interpretation of data or imagery, built for frontline health workers
🔍 Affordable tech-enabled screening for undetected conditions such as anaemia, haemoglobinopathies, ferritin status and thyroid function
🔗 Tools that connect screening, referral and follow-up, and that produce structured data for planning and accountability
🍼 Health platforms for continuity of care from conception through the first 1,000 days, including low-bandwidth remote care
📦 Demand forecasting and supply planning for maternal and child health commodities, including tools that bring in staffing and workload data for community health workers
Pillar 2: Informed, Safe and Accessible Reproductive Health
💬 AI-powered platforms with personalised reproductive health information and counselling in underserved languages, for low-literacy and low-bandwidth settings
🧩 Community health worker platforms with interoperable tools for case management, referral and follow-up
🧫 HPV detection, screening and prevention applications for primary and community care
🏦 Platforms that improve access to finance for sexual and reproductive health care, including health coverage innovations
🔐 Consent- and privacy-preserving data solutions that let women and girls control how their sensitive reproductive health data is used
Pillar 3: Mental Wellbeing, Safety and Protection
🧠 Digital mental health tools with culturally appropriate psychosocial support, including interoperable maternal mental health screening linked to systems such as DHIS2
🧭 Digital decision-support tools that help community health workers spot risks, deliver interventions and decide when to refer to specialists
🛡️ AI-enabled platforms for early detection of and response to gender-based violence, including safe reporting and referral
📵 Online safety tools that flag and respond to digital abuse, harassment and exploitation, including AI-based detection
🏫 Community-level tools that train frontline workers such as teachers, health workers and social workers to respond to the mental health needs of women and children
Impact and Data Expectations
UNICEF's guidelines look for solutions with the potential to improve the lives of the most vulnerable children. They also ask that the solution produces measurable, public, real-time data, and that the company follows the UNICEF Innovation Principles.
How Applications Are Scored
UNICEF's guidelines give a score out of 100 points, split into four parts:
⭐ Relevance for children and young people, problem and solution fit, and global scale: 20 points
💡 Innovation and fit with the Innovation Principles: 30 points
👥 Team suitability: 30 points
🧮 Budget and financing: 20 points
The Application Form: Eligibility Questions
The form begins with a few questions that decide if you can go on:
📣 How you heard about the call
🤲 The organisation that referred you, if any
🏢 Whether your company is a private for-profit company (Yes or No)
🔓 Whether your solution is open source (Yes / No but willing to open source / No)
🗺️ Your country of legal registration, chosen from the UNICEF programme country list
The Application Form: Team and Company
🙋 Women founders and co-founders, with names
🧑 Leaders under 35, with names
🧱 A core team table for up to 5 people: name, position, birth year, nationality, gender and a short biography
🏷️ Company details: name, web page, contact person and title, primary and alternate email, and founding year
The Application Form: Your Proposal
The proposal questions have strict character limits:
🎯 Pillar or pillars your solution fits
📍 Local need: 150 characters
🧰 Solution description: 250 characters
🖥️ Technologies used (AI / Data Science, AI and Blockchain, Blockchain, or Other)
⚙️ How you use the technology: 150 characters
🏗️ Technical status and what you need for a pilot: 150 characters
📈 Prototype and test results: 150 characters
💾 Solution repository link: required (see the next section)
🗓️ Goals for the next 12 months: 250 characters
🤲 Partners and advisors: 150 characters
💶 Amount you request
🧾 Revenue in the last year
🏦 Capital and contributions: 150 characters
The Repository Link Is Mandatory
The form asks for a link to your solution repository on GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab or a similar platform. This is required. A repository that cannot be opened will not be evaluated. If the repository is private, you must give access to the UNICEF Innovation accounts named in the Links section before you submit.
The Pitch Video: Two Minutes on YouTube
🎥 The video is up to 2 minutes long
🗣️ It is in English, or has English subtitles
📺 It is uploaded to YouTube, and an unlisted video is accepted
👥 It shows your real team speaking
🖱️ It shows the solution working, as a live demo or screen recording
🚫 AI-generated videos are not assessed: this includes avatars, synthetic voices and AI footage
🪄 AI tools are allowed for subtitles and basic editing
Consent and Newsletter Questions
At the end, the form asks if UNICEF may share your application with partners, and if you want to subscribe to the newsletter.
How to Apply
📝 Fill in the online application form, in English
🧪 Answer the eligibility questions with your company's real registration details
🧱 Add your team, proposal, 12-month goals, partners and financial details
💾 Paste the link to your solution repository, with access given if it is private
🎥 Paste the link to your pitch video on YouTube
📤 Submit before 04 November 2026, 11:59 PM CET
About the UNICEF Venture Fund
The UNICEF Venture Fund has invested in 102 early-stage companies since 2014, and more than half of them are women-led. These companies attracted 11 times the initial capital in follow-on investment. Its focus through 2030 is open-source, impact-driven technology in blockchain, climate and femtech. UNICEF also states its commitment to child rights, a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and harassment, and the inclusion of people with disabilities.
Later Funding for Alumni
🌱 Alumni companies can later be invited to growth-stage funding of up to US$400,000, equity-free.
✉️ This is by invitation only.
🚧 It is not part of this call.
Find More Funding Opportunities
Looking for more grants and programmes like this one? Browse the Others listings on Youth Works Hub → for programmes, competitions and calls outside our main categories. We check that every listing has a working application link, and our page on how we verify every opportunity explains how. Find more opportunities like this on Youth Works Hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can apply to the UNICEF Femtech Ventures call?
Companies registered in a UNICEF programme country that have a functional prototype and are committed to open-source licensing and principles. The form also requires a private for-profit company. Women-led startups and founders under 35 are strongly encouraged.
How much funding can a company receive?
Selected companies receive up to US$100,000. The funding is equity-free, so UNICEF does not take shares in the company. It is paid in two or three instalments based on the work plan.
How long does the mentorship last?
The call page states 12 months of technical mentorship. It is shaped around each company's needs and covers technical topics and strategic topics such as business development and proof of impact.
Can an individual apply?
No. The call is for companies. The form asks for the company's legal registration, its founding year, its web page and a contact person.
Does my nationality matter?
The condition is the country where your company is legally registered, which must be a UNICEF programme country. The form chooses this country from a list, and the full list is at the end of this page.
Does my solution have to be open source?
Yes, or your company must be willing to open source it. The form lets you answer Yes, No but willing to open source, or No. Everything developed with the funding must be open source and public.
Do I need a working prototype?
Yes. The call asks for a functional prototype, and the form asks for your technical status, what you need to run a pilot, and your prototype or test results.
Is a code repository required?
Yes. A repository link on GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab or a similar platform is mandatory. Applications without a valid, accessible repository are not considered, and a private repository must be shared with UNICEF before you submit.
What must the pitch video show?
It lasts up to two minutes, is in English or has English subtitles, and is hosted on YouTube. It must show your real team speaking and the solution working, as a live demo or screen recording.
Can I use an AI-generated video?
No. AI-generated videos, including avatars, synthetic voices and AI footage, are not assessed. AI tools can be used for subtitles and basic editing.
Which topics does the call cover?
Three pillars: healthcare access for women and girls, informed, safe and accessible reproductive health, and mental wellbeing, safety and protection. You choose the pillar or pillars that fit your solution in the form.
How are applications scored?
UNICEF's guidelines use a 100-point score: 20 points for relevance, problem and solution fit and global scale, 30 for innovation and fit with the Innovation Principles, 30 for team suitability, and 20 for budget and financing.
In which language do I apply?
In English. The pitch video can be in English or have English subtitles.
Deadline
⏳ 04 November 2026
Links
📝 Application form: https://form.jotform.com/262722015144346
🌐 Call page (UNICEF Femtech Ventures): https://www.unicef.org/innovation/FemTechCall
🧭 How to apply for funding (UNICEF Venture Fund): https://www.unicefventurefund.org/apply-funding
📄 Eligibility and selection guidelines (Request for Expression of Interest, PDF): https://www.unicefventurefund.org/sites/default/files/2023-08/Request%20for%20Expression%20of%20Interest%202022%20-%20External.pdf
🔎 Funding and support: https://www.unicefventurefund.org/funding-support
🗺️ UNICEF programme countries (PDF): https://www.unicefventurefund.org/sites/default/files/2023-08/unicef-programme-country%20%281%29.pdf
🔓 UNICEF's open source approach to innovation: https://www.unicef.org/innovation/stories/unicefs-open-source-approach-innovation
🧬 First Femtech cohort (2025 to 2026): https://www.unicef.org/innovation/femtech-cohort-1
📘 UNICEF Gender Equality Action Plan 2026 to 2029: https://www.unicef.org/executiveboard/media/32286/file/2025-32-UNICEF-Gender-Equality-Action-Plan-EN-ODS.PDF
📕 UNICEF Gender Policy 2021 to 2030: https://www.unicef.org/media/117706/file/Gender%20Policy%202030.pdf
🔐 Private repository access: GitHub account @unicefinnovation, or Bitbucket account venturefund@unicef.org
