From Wednesday, 30 September, 2026 to Sunday, 18 October, 2026

SafeTech Africa HackLab Innovating for Safe Spaces - CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

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Africa

Innovating for Safe Spaces, Digital Sovereignty & Rights

  • Applications Open: 29 September 2026 (Launched live at AU InnoFest ’26)
  • Closing Date: 18 October 2026 (23:59 CAT)
  • Who Can Apply: Young African Innovators (Ages 18–35)
  • Award: 4 Winners (USD 5,000-10,000 seed grant per winner )
  • Midway Milestone: Shortlisted finalists will attend a virtual showcase of their innovation. 
  • Final pitch event: YouthConnekt Africa Summit (November 2026)
  • Submit Your Applications here
  • Focal Contacts: 

1. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA Eastern and Southern Region & Western and Central African Region), in partnership with the Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Programme (SIARP 2.0), the Global Programme to End Child Marriage (GPECM), the African Union Women, Gender and Youth Directorate (AU Innovation Lab), UNDP, UNICEF, UN Women invites young innovators, social entrepreneurs, and digital rights advocates across Africa to submit entries for the Youth Social Innovation Challenge Titled “SafeTech Africa Hacklab ’26”

Officially launched during the African Union Innovation Festival ’26 (AU InnoFest ’26) in Addis Ababa under the theme "Vibrant Youth Ecosystems for AI & Digital Sovereignty," this challenge identifies, incubates, funds, and scale youth-led digital and community solutions. Across Africa, young people comprise over 60% of the population, yet adolescent girls and young women, and other marginalized groups face severe structural inequalities: an adolescent birth rate of 93 per 1,000, 1 in 3 girls married before 18, a 26% mobile internet gender gap leaving 230 million women offline, and pervasive technology-facilitated violence (TF-VAWG). Driving a strategy of Decentralised Power and Systemic Shifting, the Hacklab aims to equip local youth leadership to challenge entrenched power imbalances directly.

Following its launch at InnoFest ’26, this Call for Applications accepts entries through 18 October 2026. Shortlisted Innovators/Teams will receive virtual mentorship using the UNFPA Social Innovation Toolkit, culminating in a live pitch showcase and award ceremony at the YouthConnekt Africa Summit in November 2026.

2. WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

We are looking for original, practical, youth-led innovations youth-led innovative ideas designed to directly tackle harmful practices- Technology-Facilitated Violence , Child Marriage, Female Genitale Mutilation. 

What Innovation is and what it is not.
What Innovation is and what it is not.

3. THE THREE CHALLENGE THEMES

Applications are accepted in one of the three priority themes below:

THEME 1: Safe Physical & Community Spaces (Innovative Protection & Prevention of Harmful practices - child marriage, FGM and TG-VAWG) 

Focal Challenge:  Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 50+ million child brides, with 1 in 3 young women married before age 18. Discriminatory social norms, poverty, and legal enforcement gaps perpetuate child marriage and harmful practices like Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). GBV takes many different forms and negatively affects women and girls regardless of their age. One of the most common forms of GBV is intimate partner violence (IPV). The prevalence of IPV is exceptionally high in southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, where 19 to 20 per cent of women are estimated to have experienced IPV in the past 12 months. Sexual violence, regardless of relationship status, disproportionally affects young women and adolescent girls through forced sex, rape, sex trafficking, exploitation and other forms. Within the Eastern and Southern Africa region, 24 per cent of women experienced IPV in 2018, and 30 per cent of children under the age of 18 were forcibly married in 2023. The Western and Central African Region hosts 7 out the 10 countries with the highest prevalence of child mariage; FGM is prevalent in 17 out 27 countries in the region , and 10 to 30 per cent of partnered women have experience physical and/or sexual violence. The innovation solution should  leverage on digital, mobile, and civic technology to strengthen physical and community safety for young people, particularly those at risk of or affected by child marriage, FGM, and community-based gender-based violence. 

Eligible Innovation Examples (non-exhaustive list):

  • Mobile-based (SMS/USSD/App) early-warning and referral systems connecting at-risk girls to emergency responders, safe shelters, legal aid, and health services.
  • Incentive-based digital platforms and legal education tech tools that track school retention and prevent child marriage.
  • Interactive digital storytelling,  and/or community dialogue platforms engaging men, boys, traditional, and religious leaders.
  • Youth-led safe-space networks and community referral systems that identify at-risk girls and connect them to protection, education, and legal services.

THEME 2: Safe Informational Spaces ( Dissemination of accurate digital CSE & SRHR Health Information) 

Focal Challenge: 

High adolescent birth rates (93 per 1,000) and elevated HIV acquisition (6 in 7 new adolescent infections are girls) are exacerbated by restricted access to age-appropriate, accurate health education and confidential SRHR services. This theme focuses on building confidential, secure, and censorship-resistant digital environments where young people can access accurate CSE and SRHR information focused on the prevention and protection of harmful practices such as TF-VAWG, child marriage, and FGM. The innovation should also aim to dismantle deep-rooted cultural and social beliefs, while providing a community where young people can share, discuss, and reinforce information and knowledge promoting prevention and protection to enable informed health decisions.

Eligible Innovation Examples (non-exhaustive list):

  • Confidential, youth-friendly chatbots, messaging bots, or USSD engines delivering automated, non-judgmental, and accurate CSE information designed to reinforce prevention and protection against TF-VAWG and Harmful practice.
  • Accessible and interactive digital learning hubs and e-learning apps tailored for out-of-school adolescents, rural youth, and youth with disabilities.
  • Peer-to-peer digital safe spaces and encrypted SRHR platform tools for confidential service booking and commodity referrals.

THEME 3: Safe Digital Spaces (Countering Anti-Rights Narratives that normalize child marriage, Censorship & TF-VAWG) 

Focal Challenge: Between 16% and 64% of young women experience TF-VAWG. Simultaneously, social media censorship and platform moderation suppress legitimate SRHR content and feminist rights creators. The solution should focus on innovative solutions that safeguard online environments from technology-facilitated violence, counter anti-rights disinformation, and protect creators facing digital censorship. The solution should aim at equipping users with technical agency, digital safety skills, and critical media literacy to navigate digital environments safely and resist manipulation, shifting ownership and moderation away from centralized, oppressive architectures toward community-owned, privacy-preserving, and open-source models, fostering collective online defense networks, bystander intervention tools, and peer-to-peer accountability to challenge anti-rights narratives and online harm, and ensuring technology is co-created with marginalized groups (rural youth, persons with disabilities, feminist creators) to address compound risks and platform censorship . 

Eligible Innovation Examples (non-exhaustive list):

  • Safety-by-design tools, browser extensions, encrypted reporting systems, and digital self-defense platforms protecting women online.
  • Algorithmic auditing tools, digital and interactive counter-narrative toolkits, and media literacy apps that track and counter anti-rights disinformation campaign networks. 
  • Privacy-preserving AI solutions monitoring and mitigating online harassment and deepfake proliferation.
  • Decentralised, privacy-preserving publishing tools and digital spaces for human rights advocates and creators facing online moderation suppression. 
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility Criteria

IP & Ethics                                                                                                        https://www.unfpa.org/publications/safe-ethical-tech-gbv                                    https://www.unfpa.org/resources/tfgbv-shield-tech-safety-checklist        https://unsceb.org/products/principles-ethical-use-artificial-intelligence-united-nations-system/

Residency                                                                                                              https://esaro.unfpa.org/en/where-we-work

5. WHAT WINNERS RECEIVE

Winners and runners-up enter a post-hackathon support program:

  • High-Level Pitching Stage: Shortlisted finalists receive pitch coaching and will present live at the YouthConnekt Africa Summit in November 2026.
  • Seed Capital Grant: Four winners will receive seed grants ranging between USD 5,000 to USD 10,000.
  • Market Access & Investor Matchmaking: Direct exposure to investors, venture funds, and continental development partners present at YCA Summit.
  • Continental Visibility: Spotlight feature across UNFPA, Spotlight Initiative, and African Union media channels, and other media channels during the YCA summit.
Selection timetable
Selection timetable

7.SCORING CRITERIA (100 POINTS TOTAL)

  • Problem-Solution Fit: Relevance to the three Hacklab teams:  Gender-based Violence, Child Marriage,FGM, or Countering Anti-Rights/TF-VAWG.
  • Innovation & Originality: Creative, novel, and innovative ideas that clearly targets the identified problem in the communities or of the target beneficiaries.
  • Feasibility & Viability: Realistic 12-month implementation roadmap, outputs and milestones.
  • Inclusivity & Disability accessibility: Solutions ensure that No One is Left behind with clear measures to promote inclusivity and accessibility among offline, low-data or intermittent connectivity, low-digital literacy communities and/or people living with disabilities. 
  • Youth Leadership: Young people, especially young women, lead solution design, execution, and enterprise ownership.
  • Scalability & Impact Potential: Clear pathway to scale from pilot community to regional level with measurable impact metrics.
  • Safety, Privacy & Ethics: Compliance with ethical AI, user data privacy, safeguarding, and mitigation of digital pushback/censorship.

8. HOW TO APPLY & REQUIRED INFORMATION

Applications must be submitted online via the official portal by 18 October 2026 (23:59 CAT).

Required Application Content:

  1. Team Lead & Member details (ages, gender composition, nationalities, contact info, and roles).
  2. Theme Selection (Select 1).
  3. Problem Statement (Max 200 words): A clear description of the affected people/community, where are the affected people/community, what is the problem/challenges faced by the people/community, and why it matters and what would be the cost of inaction.
  4. Innovation Description (Max 700 words): How your product/platform works, technology used, user benefits, and scalability.
  5. 12-month implementation roadmap, outputs and milestones.
  6. Digital Safety & Inclusion Note: Safeguarding measures, data privacy, and accessibility considerations.