1,000+ Opportunities
Find the right grant
Search federal, foundation, and corporate grants with AI — or browse by agency, topic, and state.
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.
Get alerted about grants like this
Save a search for “UNICEF Office of Innovation” or related topics and get emailed when new opportunities appear.
Search similar grants →Based on current listing details, eligibility includes: Early-stage for-profit technology startups registered in one of UNICEF's programme countries (developing countries). Must have a viable working prototype. Must be committed to open-source licensing and practices. Women-led startups, young founders, and founders from emerging markets are especially encouraged. Solutions must be applicable to improving the lives of children. Applicants should confirm final requirements in the official notice before submission.
Current published award information indicates Up to US$100,000 in equity-free funding per startup. Multiple thematic calls throughout the year including Data Science & AI, Climate & Health, and Child Online Safety. Additional support includes mentorship, technical assistance, and access to UNICEF's global network. Always verify allowable costs, matching requirements, and funding caps directly in the sponsor documentation.
The current target date is rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows. Build your timeline backwards from this date to cover registrations, approvals, attachments, and final submission checks.
Federal grant success rates typically range from 10-30%, varying by agency and program. Build a strong proposal with clear objectives, measurable outcomes, and a well-justified budget to improve your chances.
Requirements vary by sponsor, but typically include a project narrative, budget justification, organizational capability statement, and key personnel CVs. Check the official notice for the complete list of required attachments.
Yes — AI tools like Granted can help research funders, draft proposal sections, and check compliance. However, always review and customize AI-generated content to reflect your organization's unique strengths and the specific requirements of the solicitation.
Review timelines vary by funder. Federal agencies typically take 3-6 months from submission to award notification. Foundation grants may be faster, often 1-3 months. Check the program's timeline in the official solicitation for specific dates.
Many federal programs offer multi-year funding or allow competitive renewals. Check the official solicitation for continuation and renewal policies. Non-competing continuation applications are common for multi-year awards.
The ARISE (Advancing Responsible and Gender-Inclusive AI Capacity in Africa's Higher Education Ecosystem) Project offers PhD scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships hosted at African institutions for AI research and development. The program aims to build responsible AI capacity across Africa's higher education ecosystem with a focus on gender inclusivity and ethical AI. ARISE offers 10 PhD scholarships for doctoral students at accredited African higher education institutions and 6 postdoctoral fellowships at recognized African AI research institutions. Research must align with responsible AI in ATPS thematic areas. The program provides research funding, stipends, mentorship from experienced researchers, conference and workshop access, and networking opportunities within the African AI research community. This program addresses the critical need for indigenous AI research capacity in Africa, ensuring that AI development on the continent is shaped by African researchers with local context and priorities.
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 World Food Forum Innovation Awards 2026 organized under the FAO World Food Forum recognize and support youth-led agrifood startups tackling challenges in food systems climate and nutrition using innovative technologies including AI precision farming and digital agriculture. Winners receive $17,000 in prize money global exposure through the FAO network and the opportunity to pitch their solutions at FAO headquarters in Rome. The awards support innovative AI-powered solutions across the agrifood value chain including crop monitoring supply chain optimization food safety and nutrition analytics climate-resilient agriculture and sustainable food production systems. The program is part of the broader World Food Forum initiative to engage young entrepreneurs in transforming global food systems. This is distinct from the CGIAR AI Hub which funds institutional AI research and from NSF AI-ENGAGE which focuses on US-Quad agricultural AI partnerships.