Community News South Africa

Open call for startups to join ImpactAim SDGs Tech pre-accelerator

ImpactAim SDGs Tech PreAccelerator powered by UNDP, Seedstars, and Financial Times is a 15-day intensive online pre-accelerator that will immerse startups in business and impact venture building exercises, with unique opportunities to build first-hand connections and networking with over 60 domain experts, mentors, investors. The program's official media partner is FT Talent.

The UNDP pre-acceleration initiative is set to support impact-oriented growth-stage businesses with viable and effective solutions to be deployed across a diverse set of users and contexts globally.

The initiative is focused on identifying ventures based on innovative technology solutions and transformative business models, as well as services and products addressing challenges related to poverty and inequality through access to education, health and jobs, environment and energy, digital finance, resilience, gender equality as per the major priority directions outlined in UNDP’s strategic plan for 2022-2025.

Designed to support selected ventures to further build on their impact-oriented solutions, and prepare them for impact pitching and fundraising from impact investors and philanthropists, the pre-accelerator will be selecting 50 ventures who will be participating in impact venture building masterclasses and workshops, 1:1 exclusive coaching sessions from UNDP and guest mentors within the Seedstar network, and networking events with fellow ventures.

By the end of the programme, the cohort’s best 15 will be selected to pitch to investors on ImpactAim SDGs Tech pre-accelerator demo day ​​and will have the opportunity to connect with global investors including Angels, Venture Capitals, Family Offices, Corporate Investors, Philanthropist, and Investor Networks.

“At UNDP, we are keen to partner with the private sector in finding, investing in and scaling high performing impact ventures that offer transformational solutions to development challenges and help achieve the SDGs,” said Christophe Bahuet, UNDP’s Deputy Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “The ImpactAim SDGs Tech PreAccelerator, supported and implemented by UNDP’s Bangkok Regional Hub, works globally and invites start-ups beyond the Asia-Pacific region to join its programme, giving it extraordinary scope and scale.”

Criteria

To qualify for the programme, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Directly or indirectly address at least one of the following SDG-related thematic challenges: FinTech for SDGs, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, Gender Equality, Affordable and Clean Energy.
  • A venture with a product or service with proven technical and economic feasibility (beyond MVP), a proven market, and an emerging customer base.
  • A venture that has specific and identifiable beneficiaries
  • Scalable with the potential to have a systemic and transformative effect


Interested applicants can sign up before 11 February 2022: seedsta.rs/ImpactAimUNDP

Let's do Biz