Duke-UNICEF 2021 Accelerator Program for African Social Entrepreneurs

Ready to scale your innovation or enterprise? We are looking for social entrepreneurs tackling the most challenging problems facing children globally. We are currently seeking six social enterprises working specifically on sanitation and hygiene issues in Africa.

 Water and sanitation are at the core of sustainable development, and the range of services they provide underpin poverty reduction, economic growth and environmental sustainability. However, in recent decades overexploitation, pollution, and climate change have led to severe water stress in locales across the world. The COVID-19 pandemic poses an additional impediment, impairing access for billions of people to safely managed drinking water, sanitation and hygiene services – services desperately needed to prevent the virus from spreading.

Now more than ever the world needs to transform the way it manages its water resources and delivers water and sanitation services for billions of people. Urgent action is needed to overcome this global crisis, as it is affecting all countries around the world, socially, economically and environmentally.

• Table of Content
• About United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
• Duke-UNICEF Accelerator Program
• Aim and Benefits of Duke-UNICEF Accelerator Program
• Requirements for Duke-UNICEF Accelerator Program Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

For 70 years, UNICEF has worked to improve the lives of children and their families. Despite remarkable challenges around the world, UNICEF staffers fight for the rights of every child seeking safe shelter, nutrition, protection from disaster and conflicts, and equality. UNICEF works with the United Nations and its agencies to make sure that children are on the global agenda. UNICEF strikes a balance between thorough research and practical solutions for children.... read more... continue reading

Duke-UNICEF Accelerator Program

Aim and Benefits of Duke-UNICEF Accelerator Program

Over the course of the 2-year Accelerator, selected enterprises will receive:

• $25,000 unrestricted, one-time grant
• Personalized coaching from social enterprise experts at Duke University and field experts from UNICEF
• Bespoke mentoring
• Customized capacity building curriculum
• Duke University student support
• Access to our broad networks

Accelerator Awardees should anticipate the following as part of their participation:

• Participate in online communities and webinars
• Participate in regular calls for coaching, mentoring, and peer learning
• Participate in the week-long Duke-UNICEF Virtual Forum on Social Innovation, held twice yearly
• Develop a capacity-building plan for scaling their impact, with support from the Accelerator team
• Implement and track progress of a customized capacity-building plan, with support from the accelerator team and other mentors
• Report relevant program performance and financial data on a semi-annual basis
• Share insights, promising practices, lessons learned, and other expertize with other social enterprises participating in the accelerator

Requirements for Duke-UNICEF Accelerator Program Qualification

The Duke-UNICEF Innovation Accelerator is open to any impact enterprises, working in or across Africa, that meet the following criteria:

• Is a nonprofit, hybrid, or for-profit social enterprise
• Has two founders/executives/senior leaders that can represent the enterprise over the course of the 2-year Accelerator and are comfortable working in English
• Has strong evidence of impact over at least 3 years and has a plan for how to use the Duke-UNICEF award to scale that impact in the next 3-5 years
• Deploys a promising sanitation and hygiene product and/or service, innovative supply chain model, business model, or other approach that has potential for widespread, sustainable impact
• Enterprise or enterprise innovation adheres to UNICEF Innovation Principles
• Active in any country, or multiple countries, in Africa
• Preference for social enterprises that have existing working relationship (formal or informal) with UNICEF or a UNICEF country office
• Preference for a diverse, gender-equitable team

Application Deadline

How to Apply

For more details, visit Duke-UNICEF website.