At a Glance

Program Name: UNICEF Venture Fund — Open Source Frontier Tech Solutions. It is a funding call for early-stage frontier-tech startups building open-source solutions that can improve children’s lives.

Support Type: Non-repayable, equity-free funding from the UNICEF Venture Fund. The call targets for-profit technology startups with working prototypes and open-source commitment.

Funding Amount: Up to US$100,000 in equity-free funding.

Application Deadline: 20 September 2026, 11:59 PM CET.

Program Focus

This opportunity is designed for startups using technologies such as AI, machine learning, blockchain, and other frontier technologies to create solutions with potential impact for children. The form emphasizes working prototypes, readiness for deployment, and open-source licensing/practices. Applications must be submitted in English.

Location

This is a UNICEF programme-country opportunity, so the company must be legally registered in one of UNICEF’s programme countries. Nigeria is included in the listed country dropdown on the form.

About the Program

The call is run by the UNICEF Venture Fund and appears on a Jotform application page titled “Clone of Rolling Call for Frontier Tech Solutions 2025.” It is aimed at private for-profit startups that can bring frontier technologies into child-focused use cases. Women-led, women-founded, and youth-led startups are specifically encouraged to apply.

Program Benefits

Successful applicants can receive up to US$100K in equity-free funding. Beyond funding, selected startups gain association with UNICEF’s Venture Fund and support for open-source, high-impact innovation.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible applicants must:

• Be a private for-profit company.
• Have a solution that is open source, or be willing to open source it.
• Be legally registered in a UNICEF programme country.
• Have a working prototype and be early-stage / ready to deploy.
• Be developing a frontier-tech solution relevant to children’s well-being.

Application Process & Timeline

The application is completed through the on-page form and collects company and contact details, referral source, and eligibility answers. The form asks whether the company is private and for-profit, whether the solution is open source, and the country of legal registration. Key dates shown on the page are the application deadline of 20 September 2026 at 11:59 PM CET.

Best Fit

This opportunity is best for programme-country startups building open-source frontier-tech products with a real prototype and a child-impact use case. It is less suitable for non-profit organizations, non-open-source products, or startups without a ready prototype.

Apply Here

Need Help Finding and Winning Grants?

Here’s how we can support you; pick what works best for you:

Option 1 – Free WhatsApp Funding Forum: Join our free WhatsApp group where we share grant updates tailored to your needs. Whether you're running a business, nonprofit, or personal project. You’ll never miss out on opportunities again.

Option 2 – Grant Guide: Get our step-by-step guide with 120+ ready-made answers, an AI tool to help you write faster, and monthly grant alerts.

Option 3 – Guide + Community Support: Everything in Option 2 plus one-year access to our Exclusive WhatsApp Support Group, where you can ask questions, get expert feedback, and receive real-time help on your grant applications.

Option 4 – Guide + Community Support + Submission: Everything in Option 3 plus a limited done-for-you funding support offer whereby our team sources, prepares, and submit 1 grant application for you. This shows you exactly how your story should be told to funders, giving you live examples you can reuse as your personal blueprint once this slot has been used.

Option 5 – Done-for-You Grant Writing or Accelerator/early-stage funding support: Let our expert team handle the full process for you—from writing to submission. We’ve helped others win over $50 million in funding. Starts at NGN150,000 or CA$299/year, and it comes with a Success Guarantee—if you don’t get shortlisted, we’ll keep applying for you until you do.

Option 6 - Monthly Done-with-You Funding Support: A guided, low-commitment monthly plan for founders who want to test the waters before going all-in. You get basic ongoing support so you’re never stuck or alone, but without the big upfront fees of our annual or DFY tiers.

If this sounds potentially interesting to you, these are some of the things to do:

• Open this link to join our WhatsApp Community
• Access our range of DIY alternative funding support offers here - DIY Alternative Funding
• Grab your Grant guide at NGN 10,000/$10 here - Ultimate Grant Guide
• Select our done-by-you grant funding support at NGN50000/$50 here - Done-By-You Funding Support
• Access our done-for-you accelerator funding support at NGN80000/$80 here - Accelerator Funding Support
• Access our monthly done-with-you funding support at NGN 50,000/$50 here - Done-with-you
• Access our group funding support here - Community Funding Support
• Join Teamgranted’s paid funding community here - Community Funding Support
• Schedule a FREE Virtual Coffee with a grant advisor here - Virtual Coffee

Disclaimer

The funding opportunities listed on this website are provided solely for informational purposes. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any grant funder, donor, or funding agency. All opportunities are sourced from publicly available information and are shared for the benefit of our readers. Applicants are responsible for verifying details directly with the respective funding organizations before applying.

More Opportunities

• OSV Fellowship& Grants 2026 100,000 USD in funding
• DRK Foundation Fund
• Antler Residency (Day Zero Founder Program)
• Enzzyme Creative Network
• IFAD Grant Call
• UNICEF Venture Fund
• Power of Diversity Grants 2026
• Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) 29th Call for Proposal
• Social Shifters Global Innovation Challenge 2026