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The ITU AI for Good Innovation Factory is the leading United Nations-based startup pitching and acceleration platform helping AI startups grow and scale their solutions to address global challenges aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The program features monthly regional pitching sessions highlighting startups across regions and sectors leading to the AI for Good Innovation Factory Grand Finale at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva Switzerland in July 2026. Four winners are selected for their innovative and scalable AI-powered solutions with the top startup receiving a $20,000 grand cash prize.
The program provides global pitching opportunities funding connections to investors expert mentorship exclusive networking with UN agencies and industry leaders and media exposure. Regional events are held worldwide including in Turkey Africa and other regions to identify top startups.
This competition is open to ventures leveraging AI machine learning and advanced algorithms to address real-world issues in areas such as healthcare climate sustainability education agriculture disaster response and digital inclusion. This is distinct from the Google.
org AI for Social Good awards which provide larger grants to established organizations and from the Technovation AI Ventures Accelerator which focuses specifically on young women.
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Or search similar grants →According to the current listing, eligibility includes: AI-powered startups worldwide working on solutions that address global challenges aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Startups must demonstrate innovative and scalable use of AI machine learning or advanced algorithms. Applications accepted through the AI for Good Innovation Factory Startup Application Form on the ITU website. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows $20,000 grand cash prize for the top winning startup at the Grand Finale plus additional prizes for runners-up. Winners also receive global exposure investor connections mentorship and media coverage through the AI for Good Global Summit. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Applications for ITU AI for Good Innovation Factory Startup Competition 2026 are due September 1, 2026. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, and final submission checks.
ITU AI for Good Innovation Factory Startup Competition 2026 is funded by International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
The GenAI for Good Challenge, run by IEEE in collaboration with the ITU, funds technologists and innovators building open-source generative AI solutions for pressing development challenges in the Global South, focused on health, agriculture, or climate resilience and aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Selected teams receive up to $25,000 plus cloud environments and structured support from prototype to real-world deployment, leveraging the ITU GENIE.AI framework for public-sector AI. Example focus areas include agricultural extension chatbots, non-communicable disease prevention systems, and extreme-weather advisory platforms. The program uses a two-phase structure: narrative proposals followed by functional prototype development for finalists.
GenAI for Good Challenge for Open-Source Generative AI Solutions in Global South Health, Agriculture and Climate is sponsored by IEEE and International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The GenAI for Good Challenge, run by IEEE in collaboration with the ITU, funds technologists and innovators building open-source generative AI solutions for pressing development challenges in the Global South, focused on health, agriculture, or climate resilience and aligned wit…
The AI4D Responsible AI Empowering People program is a major joint initiative by Canada International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) investing over CAD 100 million to support responsible AI development and deployment in the Global South. The program funds research organizations in developing countries to generate knowledge shaping inclusive ethical and sustainable AI policies. Individual grants of up to CAD 1 million support projects studying socio-economic impacts of AI building local AI research capacity strengthening health systems through contextualized AI solutions and developing responsible AI frameworks. Recent calls have focused on AI impacts in Africa awarding up to four grants per call. The related AI for Global Health (AI4GH) initiative provides CAD 22.3 million over seven years specifically for AI health research. IDRC also partnered with the International Science Council to explore AI impacts on science systems in the Global South. This is distinct from TWAS Seed Grants which target individual early-career African researchers and from Humanity AI which is a US-based philanthropic coalition.
The UNICEF Venture Fund provides up to US$100,000 in equity-free seed funding to early-stage, for-profit technology startups in UNICEF programme countries (developing countries) that are developing solutions to improve the lives of children. The Fund focuses on frontier technologies including data science, machine learning, AI, and blockchain. Specific AI focus areas include using ML/AI techniques to understand the digital world and its dynamics, understanding relationships between variables that impact development indicators (learning, socio-economic, resilience, health), and applying optimization techniques to improve service delivery and resource allocation. The Fund runs multiple thematic open calls throughout the year including Data Science & AI, Climate & Health, FemTech, and Child Online Safety. Startups must be registered in a UNICEF programme country, have a viable working prototype, and commit to open-source licensing. Women-led startups, young founders, and founders from emerging markets are especially encouraged to apply. The UNICEF Venture Fund has invested in over 200 startups across more than 70 countries since 2016.