55 regional champions will take part in BOOST’s new cohort to advance gender equality in Europe and Central Asia
Thursday, May 5, 2022
UNDP Europe and Central Asia’s BOOST, a regional acceleration programme for social impact innovation, financed and supported by Koç Holding and the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic, has selected a total of 55 champions to take part in its Women Innovators program. The program amplifies, bridges, and connects innovators across the region with innovative ideas that leverage the power of technology to support women and girls to thrive and advance in the digital economy.
Launched in collaboration with public and private partners, BOOST: Women Innovators is a region-wide open call for innovations in four key thematic areas: women in data, women and digital access & use, women in the digital economy & STEM, and women driving tech innovation. As digital transformation and new technologies propel us forward, the initiative aims to close the widening gender digital divide, impacting women’s socio-economic opportunities in a wide range of fields.
“The response to our innovation call was truly remarkable. The ingenuity and great impact potential shown in the innovations we received confirms our conviction – our region is full of changemakers, and we need to amplify, bridge, and connect them. We are grateful to our Evaluation Board, comprised of core partners and innovation experts, for selecting a promising new cohort to join the BOOST community. We look forward to seeing how these innovations advance gender equality across our region”, said Rikard Sjöstrand, BOOST Lead at UNDP.
Launched in February 2022, the call received nearly 300 applications from women-led startups, SMEs, non-profits and academic institutions from more than 20 countries and territories in Europe and Central Asia.
The program consists of two tracks:
- Track 1 is for women-led organizations in Europe and Central Asia working on tech innovations to bridge the gender digital divide. Track 1 received 223 applications, of which 45 were selected (22 startups, 3 SMEs, 5 social enterprises, 10 nonprofits, and 2 academic institutions). The selected participants are:
ACircPack; AppsMakers; Arrowstone Flowers; Art Pioneri; B&M Accounting Solution; BizBIR; Business and Technology University; Centre for Science and Innovation for Development; Connect-Ed Kazakhstan; COR – don’t skip it; Digital Innovation Academy; Dreamups Innovation and Entrepreneurship Accelerator; Empress; Envicon; Female algorithm; Film-U-Box and FilmStar Maker; ForSet; Gaia; Girlopolis; Girls Power Fund; Goguzo; Hajde Folim; Her Guide; IdealHub Innovation and Technology Center; Innovation, Technology and Strategy Center; Izzi; Kyrgyz Space Program Public Fund Kloop Media; LLC New Algorithm; MediCare Box; MedPoint Technologies; MUGALIM – Online school for teachers; OK TOWN; Onwa; Outsourcing contact center “MyCall”; Safe YOU (Impact Innovations Institute); Space SyntaKs; Spica Technology; Tech4Impact NGO; UNEW; upway; VESNA; Virtual Story; Virtual Team LLC; Visit village; Weincrypto
- Track 2 is for women-led startups, registered in Turkey, working on innovations in any industry. Track 2 received 65 applications, of which 10 were selected. The selected participants are:
Arimars Teknoloji; Hub21; Mapla Biotechnology; Mimarlık Robotu; Nuvio; Rebee Mobile Application; Searover Robotic and Software; Sumatrix Biotech; UXapply; Zetamatrix
The 55 innovators from across Europe and Central Asia will join BOOST: Women Innovators to access world-class trainings and mentorship to develop, reimagine and scale their impact innovations – and compete for US$10,000 in equity-free capital. The innovations will become part of a region-wide portfolio that lays the groundwork for a better and inclusive future.
Background:
BOOST is a regional acceleration program for sustainable impact innovation, powered by UNDP Europe and Central Asia. Initially launched in 2020 in response to the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, BOOST seeks to boost social innovators across the region to accelerate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
BOOST is financed and supported by partners across the region and beyond, including Koç Holding and the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic. BOOST is also working with STEM4ALL, Startup Grind, KWORKS, ImpactAIM and Digital X amongst a growing list of partners, to deliver an impactful programme for BOOST’s new cohort.
