Investments from UNICEF and beyond: competitions for startups and IT specialists

We have compiled a selection of contests and competitions where you can win money and receive support for the development of your project.

Investments from UNICEF
UNICEF's venture fund aims to invest in cutting-edge open-source technological solutions that have the potential to bring radical changes in the field of child health, nutrition, and mental health.

Funding: $100,000

Advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, blockchain, or extended reality are particularly welcome.

Application deadline: October 20

Format: online

Registration is available via this link.

More information is available via this link.

Hardware Challenge 3.0

NURIS Hardware Challenge 3.0 is a five-month program based on the synergy of innovative and entrepreneurial culture.

The prize fund is 6,000,000 tenge.

What hardware projects are organizers looking for:

— mobile medical devices

— devices for children and pets

— mobile solutions

— wearable devices

— IoT devices with WI-FI data transmission for home use.

Participation conditions:

— age 16 and older

— willingness of the team to work full-time on the project at the Fab Lab in Astana from October 16, 2023, to March 1, 2024

— the team can have no more than three people.

Application deadline: October 15

Registration is available via this link.

mGovAward

A republican competition in Uzbekistan for the development of mobile applications.

Students of higher education institutions, pupils of general education and secondary vocational schools can participate. The competition is held in seven categories:

— transport and logistics

— Big Data

— education

— entrepreneurship

— human resources and well-being

— ecology and clean energy

— tourism.

Participants must develop a mobile application for the public sector in one of the listed categories. A working MVP and a three-minute video presentation of the project are required.

The prize fund of the competition is $100,000.

Deadline: November 1

Registration is available via this link.

Huawei Uzbekistan ICT Competition 2023

The ICT Competition 2023–2024 will consist of several stages, including preliminary rounds at the regional level, semifinals, and the final. Participants will compete in various categories, such as network technologies, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and other relevant areas of ICT.

Deadline: October 15

Detailed information about the ICT Competition can be found on the website.

Yandex Cup

The final and the award ceremony for participants from different countries will be held offline at Yandex's office in Almaty.

The championship will take place in three stages. Qualification and semifinals will be held online. 120 participants from all countries who showed the best results in the semifinals will gather in Kazakhstan for the offline final and award ceremony. This format will allow participants not only to test their skills but also to meet other developers from different countries. For everyone who wishes, Yandex will broadcast the final.

The prize fund is 38,000,000 tenge.

Deadline: October 29

Registration is available via this link.

Underdog Tech Award

Early-stage technology startups located outside major IT hubs, whose solutions can or already have a significant positive impact on their communities and have good chances for rapid scaling, can participate in the Underdog Tech Award selection.

The first selection stage will end on December 1, 2023. In the second stage, which will begin in December 2023, the nominees for the award and 20 candidates shortlisted will be determined.

The prize fund is $60,000.

Deadline: November 28

Registration is available via this link.