UNICEF Venture Fund’s 2026 call seeks climate-focused startups developing frontier technologies that protect children’s health and strengthen essential services. It is the first call under Climate Ventures, a five-year initiative that plans annual global calls and investments in at least 60 ventures.
Selected companies continue developing and testing their own solutions while receiving capital, mentorship and access to UNICEF networks. The call covers strategic planning, early warning and early action, healthcare readiness, and point-of-care support.
Benefits & funding
- Up to US$100,000 in equity-free early-stage funding, awarded in two or three tranches against an agreed work plan.
- A one-year investment period, including four to five months of tailored technical and strategic mentorship.
- Access to UNICEF testing environments, country-office pilot opportunities, networks and potential follow-on funders.
Eligibility
- The applicant must be a private, for-profit company registered in a UNICEF programme country; the call states no separate founder nationality or residence requirement.
- The company must have an active prototype with promising initial results and potential to improve the lives of vulnerable children.
- The proposed frontier-technology solution must be open source or commit to becoming open source; funded technology must carry an open licence by month six of the one-year investment period.
- The solution must generate measurable, publicly accessible real-time data, or the application must clearly explain how this will be established during implementation.
- The proposal must address at least one of the call’s four areas: strategic planning, early warning and early action, healthcare readiness, or point-of-care support.
- Individuals, universities, NGOs and civil-society organizations cannot apply directly, and no degree qualification is required for team members.
- Women-led startups and young founders are especially encouraged, but these are preferences rather than eligibility gates.
Can you apply?
Open to all applicants
No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.
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Application process
- 1Check the company-registration, prototype, open-source, child-impact and real-time-data requirements.
- 2Submit the online Expression of Interest with the required information and supporting documents; the 2026 deadline was 17 May 2026.
- 3If shortlisted, submit the comprehensive Request for Proposal requested by UNICEF.
- 4If selected after proposal review, attend a 30-minute online demonstration interview with the Venture Fund and frontier-technology experts.
- 5Await the final investment decision, notification and onboarding.
Program timeline
17 May 2026
Application deadline for the 2026 call.
Months 2–3 of the Venture Fund process
Shortlisted companies are invited to submit a Request for Proposal.
Months 4–5
Selected companies attend a 30-minute online demo interview.
Month 6
UNICEF finalizes decisions, notifies investees and begins onboarding.
After selection
The early-stage investment period runs for one year.