Up to $100,000 Femtech Ventures Grant
- Organization: UNICEF
- Type: Grant
- Location: Global
- Deadline: November 4, 2026
- Funding: Fully Funded
UNICEF Femtech Ventures, run by the UNICEF Venture Fund, is choosing its second cohort of companies using frontier technology such as AI, machine learning, blockchain and data science to build open-source solutions for the health, wellbeing, and sexual and reproductive health and rights of girls and women in emerging markets. Selected companies receive up to US$100,000 in equity-free funding plus a year of technical mentorship. Women-led startups and founders under 35 are strongly encouraged to apply. **What you get:** - Up to US$100,000 in equity-free funding; UNICEF takes no shares and seeks no financial return, the open-source code the company builds is its "equity" - 12 months of technical mentorship - Access to UNICEF's global network, including its relationships with governments, to help the solution scale - A place in the Femtech Ventures portfolio alongside the first cohort of companies from Africa and Asia **What you'll do:** - Build and test an open-source solution in one of three areas: healthcare access for women and girls; informed, safe and accessible reproductive health; or mental wellbeing, safety and protection - Work to an agreed work plan, with funding released in two or three tranches - Publish real-time data on the solution's progress on the Venture Fund's public reporting site - Put the funded solution under an open-source licence by month six of the one-year investment period **Key dates:** - Applications close 4 November 2026 at 11:59 PM CET - Shortlisted companies are invited to submit a full proposal (Request for Proposals) about two to three months after applying - A 30-minute online demo interview follows about four to five months after applying - Investees are announced about six months after applying **More information:** - Eligibility FAQs, the application process and the open-source licence rules are on the UNICEF Venture Fund site: https://www.unicefventurefund.org/apply-funding - How funding and mentorship work: https://www.unicefventurefund.org/funding-support - Applications must be submitted in English - A company can submit more than one application for different projects; each is assessed separately
