Applications for the Innovation Factory Challenge 2022 are now open. The Innovation Challenge is an opportunity for early-stage innovators who have digital innovations that address social and environmental challenges and are keen to develop a sustainable business model around their digital solutions.

Topics and Countries

• Ghana – Financial Inclusion: The government of Ghana has the vision to increase affordable and good quality financial services that meet the needs of Ghanaians. This vision is expressed in the National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy (NFIDS) roadmap of reforms and innovations. Aligning with the 2030 Agenda for SDGs’ tenet of leaving no one behind, the Innovation Challenge for Ghana seeks to support digital innovations and solutions that promote financial inclusion.
  Examples include innovations that support the financial inclusion of marginalized groups like people living with disabilities or rural women groups, support financial literacy initiatives, enable easier access to savings accounts and payment services, as well as reduce barriers to obtaining insurance and loans.

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• Indonesia – Urban Sustainability: According to the World Bank, 56% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, and is expected to rise to 70% by 2050. The rise in high population density communities means increasing large demand for food, energy, clean water, and waste management posing a risk of causing a large negative impact on the environment. Technology and innovation have a transformational role in enabling positive outcomes for communities to continue to live in sustainable, low carbon, and healthy urban environments.
  The Innovation Challenge for Indonesia seeks to support digital innovations that provide solutions to improve urban sustainability.
• Mexico – Green Recovery: The global pandemic has exacerbated inequalities and thwarted our progress towards achieving the SDGs; at the same time, climate change threats also continue to advance, causing communities to face more and more unprecedented challenges. One thing is clear, that we can not return to business-as-usual. Green recovery pushes us to rethink how communities urgently need to rebuild in ways that are environmentally sustainable, resilient, and inclusive.
  The Innovation Challenge refers to digital innovations that provide solutions to improve livelihoods and take climate action – social impact such as empowering marginalized groups to find secure employment, or environmental impact such as enabling biodiversity conservation and promoting sustainable consumption – ultimately contributing to the green recovery in Mexican communities.

Benefits from Innovation Factory Challenge 

Winner teams will receive access to the digital innovation launcher program from Innovation Factory to refine their ideas and prototypes to the generation of a viable business plan and to launch their digital innovation for sustainability.

Through the digital innovation launcher program, winner teams will:

• Firstly, Access tools to help them launch their sustainable business idea.
• Secondly, Build a support network to assist with their digital innovation start-up.
• Thirdly, Receive professional support from experienced entrepreneurship experts.
• Exchange with peers who similarly strive to generate socio-environmental impacts.

Eligibility Required for Innovation Factory Challenge 

• Open to start-ups in Ghana, Indonesia, and Mexico;
• They should be able to submit digital innovations for sustainable development according to the topic for each country.

Application Details

• Step 1 – Apply: Call for applications open to start-ups to submit digital innovations for sustainable development: financial inclusion (Ghana), urban sustainability (Indonesia) & green recovery (Mexico). Submit your application until January 28, 2022, & tell them why your innovative idea/prototype needs acceleration & funding support.
• Step 2 – Accelerate: From all applications, an expert jury selects 3 teams per country with the most promising digital innovations. These teams participate in the 3 months digital innovation launcher program.

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Lastly, It is important to visit the official website link found below to access the application form.

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