August 17, 2023 is the deadline. | UNFPA/Youth Connekt Africa Mental Health and ASRHR HackLab 2023 (Seed Fund: $15 000)
The UNFPA/Youth Connect Africa Mental Health and ASRHR HackLab 2023 is now accepting applications. In order to accelerate efforts to achieve the three Transformative Results (TRs) and secure the protection and fulfillment of the rights of adolescents and young people, the HackLab will investigate innovation. The HackLab will focus on young people with unique ideas that, if implemented widely, may significantly improve the mental health and Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASRHR) of young people in the area.
The HackLab will also identify middlemen, such as incubators, investors, marketers, and accelerators housed within UNFPA Country Offices (COs), who can help young innovators succeed and take the lead in bringing about social change. To help innovators align with UNFPA’s purpose and develop their creative solutions to problems relating to mental health and ASRHR, the HackLab will find innovators and connect them with technical support through UNFPA COs. This will assist spread knowledge of the symbiotic relationships between mental health and ASRHR and lessen the harmful effects of both outcomes on adolescents and young adults.
Through this HackLab, UNFPA will be able to support chances for young people to innovate and develop SRHR solutions while also providing jobs for young people.
Challenge’s Format
SYP CO is seeking innovations for its initial phase.
You can help here, of course! They invite you to contribute your innovations and submit an application for the call. The UNFPA East and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) will compile a comprehensive list of all solutions submitted after the call for solutions has ended, and will subsequently transmit the submissions to the relevant Country Offices (COs) and AfriLabs. Following receipt of the lengthy list of options from ESARO, the COs and Afrilabs are in charge of choosing one cutting-edge solution for their nation (which directly relates to the Country Programme Document, the key document outlining UNFPA’s contribution to achieving national priorities, goals, and results), and then inviting that solution to the “startup bootcamp” to advance their knowledge and social enterprises.
Building technical capacity for innovators and COs in the second phase, as well as the final pitch event
- AfriLabs will facilitate a “startup bootcamp” for a select group of 12 solutions to help them hone their company management abilities. To guarantee that the innovators’ solutions are in line with international best practices, UNFPA and partners will also offer SRHR and mental health technical support to them during the virtual bootcamp. The bootcamp will review the project teams and alignment to the opportunity areas chosen for this HackLab, and it will evaluate the solutions in comparison to accepted business standards. In order to find the solutions that best match with the UNFPA mandate and have the greatest chance of scaling, identified business coaches and trainers will support the alignment and revision of the structures. Six concepts will be shortlisted in a bootcamp closing pitch event in order to move on to the final pitch event, which will be held at the Youth Connect Summit in Nairobi, Kenya. Each of the two emergent ideas from the final pitch event will get a seed fund of USD$15,000 as well as an additional $5,000 in in-kind help for business and investment preparedness.
Preparation for the third phase of investment readiness
To continue assisting businesses in growing, two developing solutions will be linked to business incubation centres in their respective localities. The UNFPA’s strategy to encourage scalable solutions is consistent with its support for investment preparedness. AfriLabs will continue to enable UNFPA RO, CO, and partners in the Country Programme to align the solutions, find new clients, facilitate uptake, and mainstream in country interventions.
Award
- A USD $15,000 seed fund investment will help each of the two emerging ideas.
- The chosen company incubation hub will give each winning solution an additional $5,000 in in-kind investment readiness business support.
- The business support services offered by Afrilabs as part of the acceleration support will include customer acquisition, brand positioning and awareness, financial management, team building, product development and augmentation, and exposure to investment opportunities.
Eligibility
- Ideas must be original, creative, and address any of the opportunity areas noted.
- Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are among the nations that participate in the UNFPA SYP Program.
- Show that the concept or solution is original in the SYP program country; Show that you have the ability and have a solid plan in place to bring the concept or solution to scale;
- According to the African Union’s definition of youth, the inventor must be 35 or younger. People with impairments, women, and girls are particularly encouraged to apply;
- Individuals or groups may submit innovations. More than three persons cannot represent an innovation team;
- Align with the transformative outcomes and/or core mandate of the UNFPA; Align with the UN’s innovative guiding principles;
- be solutions that are both scalable and profitable. solutions that need low financial investment and can be applied in various circumstances;
- possess a proven ability to uplift women and young people; teams must be willing to modify their suggestions if their country office, which is supporting their technical capacity building, makes a recommendation; teams’ willingness to present their suggestions through communication platforms will be decided by UNFPA.
Evaluation Standards
Solution alignment and relevance:
- How helpful is the project in addressing the issues surrounding mental health and ASRHR?
- Does the solution, at the level of the SYP country, support any of the opportunity areas in the call?
- Does the solution provide youth and women a voice?
- Project novelty and desired development stage:
- How innovative is the solution in accordance with the UN Innovation Principles (new, fresh application of an existing solution, or scaling up an initial pilot to new areas)?
- How reliable are the findings of its first prototype, piloting, data collection from the past, and anticipated milestones?
- Both scalability and sustainability
- The UN Innovation Toolkit defines adoption as “moving adoption beyond the initial pilot’s target population.” Does the solution have a realistic route to scalability and sustainability through the market or public sector?
- Does the business, group, or person work with regional partners to ensure the solution’s feasibility in the region and to advance its sustainability and scalability within the target community?
- Does the solution show promise for expansion both within and outside of the country?
A project’s budget
- Does the proposed budget fall within the parameters of the innovation award, and are the expenditures listed reasonable?
- Does the business, group, or person disclose any additional sources of funding for their activities?
- Fit with the country programme document (CPD) of the UNFPA
- How closely does the suggested remedy adhere to the CPD?
- Could the remedy be simply incorporated into upcoming CO Annual Work Plans (AWP)?
Application
Visit Mental Health and ASRHR HackLab for further details.
