$100K Equity-Free Funding for FemTech Startups | UNICEF Venture Fund 2025

Technology is advancing rapidly but not equitably. While innovation is shaping the future, many women and girls remain excluded due to design limitations, access barriers, and systemic oversight.

Too often, available technologies fail to consider diverse needs or are restricted by licensing models that prevent adaptation by local innovators. The result? Widening disparities and missed opportunities to empower those most in need.

The Case for Change

• 31% of women globally are not in education, employment, or training

• 740 million women in developing economies remain unbanked

• 21 million adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries become pregnant annually

• Only 2% of global medical research funding is allocated to female reproductive health

UNICEF Venture Fund: A Call for FemTech Innovation

The UNICEF Venture Fund is offering up to $100,000 in equity-free funding for early-stage, for-profit startups leveraging frontier technologies such as AI, blockchain, and data science to improve the lives of women and girls.

This initiative goes beyond healthcare—it seeks holistic solutions that recognize the unique social and economic challenges faced by women and girls.

Focus Areas

1. Improve Health Outcomes for Women and Girls

• Digital health tools for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment

• AI-powered platforms for maternal, reproductive, and adolescent health

• On-demand health referrals and culturally relevant medical information

2. Tackle Gender-Specific Challenges

• Tools to close the gender data gap and promote inclusive policy-making

• Accessibility-driven design for underserved groups, including those with disabilities

• Solutions tailored to diverse cultural and economic contexts

3. Empowerment Through Access and Inclusion

• Platforms that expand financial inclusion and economic participation

• Safe, inclusive education and skill-building programs

• Technology that boosts agency, decision-making, and leadership

Who Should Apply?

• Early-stage startups

• For-profit ventures

• Tech-driven solutions (AI, blockchain, data science)

• Strong focus on social impact and gender inclusivity

Apply Now: UNICEF FemTech Innovation Call

If you’re building scalable, inclusive technology that transforms the lives of women and girls, this is your opportunity to make real impact—without giving up equity.