What happened
UNICEF Femtech Ventures is seeking applications for its second annual cohort. Selected companies can receive up to US$100,000, twelve months of technical mentorship and access to UNICEF’s network. The official call lists a 4 November 2026 deadline. InsideHer checked the opportunity on 15 October; the call page does not provide a launch date.
Who the call is designed for
The call focuses on frontier-technology solutions for women’s and girls’ health, reproductive rights, wellbeing and safety in emerging markets. Applicants should be registered in a UNICEF programme country, have a functioning prototype and commit to open-source licensing. Women-led companies and founders under 35 are encouraged to apply; encouragement should not be confused with an exclusive eligibility rule.
Open source is a substantive commitment
The Venture Fund describes its support as equity-free funding paired with mentoring. Its application process and eligibility resources should be read alongside the specific femtech call: a funding ceiling is not a guaranteed award, and an application is not an investment decision.
UNICEF’s published open-source approach describes licences that let others inspect, reuse and develop technology. For founders, this needs consideration before an application is submitted: the team must understand which parts of its technology it can legitimately license and how it will sustain the product. Openness of software does not mean publishing identifiable patient data.
Why it matters
The call creates a route for locally developed technology to reach support beyond capital. The strongest fit will be a clearly defined problem, evidence from an existing prototype and a credible path to implementation. Founders should assess the programme’s conditions against their product, ownership of intellectual property and obligations to the people whose data they handle.
What to watch
Confirm country eligibility, current application instructions and the deadline directly with UNICEF. The call does not state a closing time or timezone, so applicants should not infer one or leave submission to the final hours. Apply through the official call’s application link. InsideHer does not receive applications or represent UNICEF.
