Innovation

Challenge objectives

Through this challenge, UNFPA aims to:

Identify and support scalable innovations in women’s health.
Empower women-led enterprises addressing critical health conditions.
Strengthen the women’s health innovation ecosystem.
Provide equity-free funding, mentorship and capacity-building to women entrepreneurs to ensure positioning to scale up.
Advance gender equity in technology and innovation, increasing access to funding and networking opportunities.

What do we mean by scalable solutions?

Scaling a solution means expanding its reach to serve more people or cover new geographical areas, ensuring long-term impact and sustainability. Our focus is on solutions that are ready to scale through further investments. Many initiatives in key areas – such as cervical cancer screening, menopause care, breast cancer detection and infertility treatment – are well positioned for this type of expansion.

By investing in these solutions, we can extend their reach to new regions and larger populations, ensuring more equitable access to critical healthcare services. Strategic funding and partnerships will drive this growth, helping proven initiatives scale effectively while maintaining impact and quality.

Eligibility criteria

Women-led social enterprises⁴ registered and operating in UNFPA programme countries with a scalable health innovation addressing women’s health needs.
Organizations – startups, social enterprises, non-profits and hybrid models – committed to expanding access to critical women’s health solutions, with clear business models and pathways to scale through markets or the public sector.
Applicants must provide:
- A minimum viable product (MVP).⁵
- Proof of ownership of the MVP.
- Application submission in English (with team members demonstrating working knowledge of English).
- Commitment to virtual innovation cohort activities from May to December 2025, adhering to all programme requirements.

^{4Women-led social enterprises are enterprises that are at least 25 percent owned by one or more women; whose management and control lie with one or more women; which has at least one third of the board of directors comprised of women, where a board exists; where a woman is a signatory of the business’s legal documents and financial accounts; and which is operated independently from businesses that are neither led nor owned by women. (IWA 34: 2021: Women's entrepreneurship – key definitions and general criteria.)}

^{5A minimum viable product (MVP) is a product with enough features that can be used by early customers and receive feedback for future development.}

Evaluation criteria

Applications will be reviewed in two phases: initial screening by the UNFPA team, followed by interviews with an expert judging panel.

The selection criteria include:

Alignment with the challenge focus: The innovation addresses health conditions uniquely affecting women and girls.
Innovative approach: A novel solution or novel application of an existing solution.
Potential for impact: Proven effectiveness in improving health outcomes.
Sustainable business model: A well-defined approach for cost recovery or revenue generation.
Feasibility and scalability: A clear, practical and sustainable growth plan.
Inclusive, women-centred design: Solutions designed by, for and with women, especially in underserved communities.

Timeline

📅 Call for submissions: April 9 – May 4, 2025.
💡 Winners announced: June 2025.
🚀 Innovation support programme: June – November 2025.
💰 Catalytic funding: Up to $20,000 per winner.
🌍 Global exposure: Direct access to health innovation networks, mentorship and investors.
🔗 Post-challenge support: Ongoing engagement, networking and participation in health forums.

The organizing partners

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA): At UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, our mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA ensures rights and choices for all, promoting gender equality and empowering women, girls and young people to take control of their bodies and their futures. We work with partners in more than 150 countries to provide access to a wide range of sexual and reproductive health services. Our goal is ending the unmet need for family planning, preventable maternal death and gender-based violence and harmful practices, including child marriage and female genital mutilation, by 2030.

Solve, an initiative of MIT, believes that to achieve a more sustainable and prosperous future for all, we need new voices and ideas. Solve launches open calls for exceptional and diverse solutions to the most pressing global challenges, from anyone, anywhere in the world. Selected innovators get the backing of MIT and its community of supporters to scale their impact and drive lasting change.

IE University drives positive change through education, research, and innovation. The academic institution provides a technology-based learning ecosystem for leaders who make a difference in the world through their global vision, an entrepreneurial mindset, respect for diversity and sustainability and a unique focus on the humanities. IE University is comprised of six schools: IE Business School, IE Law School, IE School of Politics, Economics and Global Affairs, IE School of Architecture and Design, IE School of Science and Technology, and IE School of Humanities. The institution has a faculty of more than 500 professors who teach more than 10.000 students from 160 countries in Bachelor, Master, and Executive Education programs. IE University's network of more than 80,000 alumni is present in 185 countries.

Women of Wearables is a global membership organization bringing together members in more than 50 countries. It supports its community through a variety of activities such as webinars, conferences, workshops and access to a content library, job board and events list, as well as providing members a platform for visibility and growth. The organization focuses on sectors such as wearable tech, med tech, health tech, digital health and women’s health. Headquartered in London, the organization has brought together more than 30,000 industry professionals through activities including thoughtful discussions, events and knowledge exchange.