Application Deadline
Application Deadline: May 19, 2026
Programme Description
The UNICEF Startup Lab Challenge 2026 will engage startups and innovators to co-develop practical, context-appropriate solutions that strengthen Ghana’s prevention, identification, referral, and response systems for child labour and child trafficking. The Challenge will focus on innovations that can be integrated into existing government systems, aligned with national action plans, and linked to sustainable public–private collaboration.
Proposed Challenge Questions
The Challenge will invite innovators to respond to one or more of the following questions:
- How can early identification and prevention of child labour and child trafficking risks be improved in high-risk sectors and cross-districts, using solutions that are feasible for scale within Ghana’s public systems?
- How can linkages between identification, referral, and service delivery be strengthened despite limited workforce, financing, and operational capacity?
- How can data visibility, interoperability, and responsible data use be improved across public systems and private-sector initiatives to support timely, evidence-based decision-making?
- How might we support responsible business practices by enabling private-sector actors to meet international and national child-labour and trafficking standards, while strengthening accountability, transparency, and alignment with Ghana’s public child protection and labour systems?
Requirements
- UNICEF seeks solutions that improve early risk detection and prevention at community, household, and sector levels; support frontline actors with practical tools that enhance efficiency and follow-up; strengthen data systems and interoperability while ensuring child safeguarding and data protection; and address underlying drivers by linking children and families to education, social protection, child protection, skilling, and employment pathways.
- Solutions should be co-created with government counterparts, aligned with national systems and action plans, and demonstrate clear potential for piloting and scale.
Expected Outcome
Selected innovations will be piloted within existing projects, generating evidence on what works to strengthen systems for preventing and responding to child labour and child trafficking, with clear pathways for scale and sustainability.
Grant Atlas