ITU Innovation Challenges 2020

Published: 15 May 2020 4,071 views

Are you an entreprenuer with a global mindset? Is your innovation able to create digital impact in your communities? ITU is inviting applications from qualified candidates for its 2020 Innovation challenege 

The challenge is a global open competition platform for innovators and ecosystem builders to present their ideas and projects, empowering them to transform their communities into thriving digital societies. 

ITU and the EQUALS Global Partnership will support standout tech innovators who are helping and empowering women to excel in the access and use of ICTs  to increase their productive and economic capacity in sectors such as agriculture, textiles and apparel, and health, and to build prosperous communities. 

• Women in technology challenge
• Digital change-maker challenge
• Ecosystem best practice challenge

ITU Women in technology challenge

Benefits of ITU Women in technology challenge

Three opportunities to win

1. Digital change-maker challenge: For innovators with ideas that create digital impact in their communities. 
2. Ecosystem best practice challenge: For ecosystem builders with good practices that nurture an enabling environment for innovators in their communities. 
3. Women in technology challenge: For innovators with digital projects that create impact for women in their communities. 

Requirements for ITU Women in technology challenge

The innovation challenge is open to all eligible startups with a minimum of one (1) year in operation, legally registered and incorporated in a developing country and at least 30% or more women owned, managed and controlled.

Your solutions should:

1. Ensure that women are given access to ICT platforms, internet connectivity and digital tools; equipped with digital skills through training and use of tech tools; and/or offered chances to develop leadership potential (such as entrepreneurial skills, network building, financial inclusion, etc.) by being active members of the digital society.   
2. Focus on facilitating and improving processes in one of the selected sectors (agriculture, textiles and apparel, or health) in which women are represented in significant numbers as both business owners and workers, by supporting them to access and use ICTs for development through scalable innovative solutions that will help them increase their participation in the economy. 

Application Deadline

ITU Digital change-maker challenge

Requirements for ITU Digital change-maker challenge

To apply to this challenge, you must have an idea with a minimum viable project in one of the following thematic areas:

1. Capacity building: bringing digital skills to society.
2. Cybersecurity: solutions that promote online safety and security.
3. Digital inclusion: empowering people with specific needs; including indigenous peoples, people in rural areas, persons with disabilities, and youth and children.
4. Climate change and e-waste: helping countries mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.
5. Emergency telecommunication: enhancing disaster risk reduction and improving national emergency telecommunications and early warning and monitoring systems.
6. ICT applications: enhancing citizens’ lives, promoting smart living and improving public service availability. 
7. Regulatory and market environment: enabling collaboration for a sound policy, legal and regulatory environment for digital development.
8. Technology and network development: enabling reliable ICT infrastructure and services for all.
9. Statistics and indicators: facilitating evidence-based data collection and analysis to measure the information society and promote informed decision making.

Your solution should:

1. Address a clear problem that stakeholders in your community are facing, especially considering value chain competitiveness and global disruption due to Covid-19.
2. Cover one or more of the thematic areas above.

Application Deadline

ITU Ecosystem best practice challenge

Requirements for ITU Ecosystem best practice challenge

the Ecosystem Best Practice Challenge is looking for ecosystem builders from around the world. To apply to this challenge, you must have an existing practice with proven results in one of the following thematic areas:

1. Guiding innovation dynamics: nurturing a mindset and culture of ICT-centric innovation (such as developing public policies for start-up visas or innovation; mentorship and innovation community-building programmes; and tax, start-up, procurement and investment laws).
2. Building innovation capacity: providing infrastructure and spaces to develop ICT-centric solutions (such as incubation and acceleration, entrepreneurial, research or university programmes).
3. Integrating ICT innovation in key sectors: enabling ecosystem initiatives that can digitally transform an economic sector’s value chain (such as tech parks or cluster development initiatives).

Your solution should:

1. Be evidence-informed practices that can be amplified and scaled at the national level.
2. Help other communities at the global level upgrade their practices to maintain competitiveness and innovation in their ICT ecosystems.
3. Provide an enabling environment that nurtures innovators to accelerate their ideas to market.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

Use the link(s) below to apply on organisation website.

• Women in technology challenge - https://cocreate.itu.int/category/184990
• Digital change-maker challenge - https://cocreate.itu.int/category/158950
• Ecosystem best practice challenge - https://cocreate.itu.int/category/158910