About UNICEF StartUp Lab
The UNICEF StartUp Lab is a co-creation space and accelerator located at UNICEF’s offices in Accra-Ghana, founded by UNICEF Ghana Country Office and supported by Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST).
It aims to actively engage young startups in the development of innovative, open-source, market-driven products and solutions that help address complex problems impacting the well-being of children and young people, especially the most vulnerable.
The Lab provides a platform for co-creation by bringing together partnerships from within the startup ecosystem in Ghana (including among civil society, academia and the private sector) to identify and enable the next generation of impact-focused businesses.
Advancing Youth Entrepreneurship & Social Impact in Ghana
Starting October 2019, a cohort of young, technology-driven startups began working on-site with UNICEF programme specialists to gain valuable market knowledge, prototype their products, and test solutions on the ground. The startups also gain access to international and national investment opportunities, including possible support from the UNICEF Innovation Fund.
The Lab graduated its first cohort of startups in 2020. With the ever-growing number of development challenges, through the Lab UNICEF continues to engage the innovation ecosystem in Ghana, to discover and develop solutions which address the world’s most pressing issues.
With the launch of the second cohort of the StartUp Lab, each startup will benefit from a 6-month entrepreneurship programme, including business and product development, as well as mentorship delivered by MEST Africa. Visit our accelerator page to learn more about the current and previous cohorts.
Visit our accelerator page to learn more about the current and previous cohorts.