Application Deadline: 18 October 2026 (23:59 CAT)
Applications are now open for the Spotlight Initiative SafeTech Africa HackLab. 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.
Requirements
The program is 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.
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)
THEME 2: Safe Informational Spaces ( Dissemination of accurate digital CSE & SRHR Health Information)
THEME 3: Safe Digital Spaces (Countering Anti-Rights Narratives that normalize child marriage, Censorship & TF-VAWG)
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 Requirements
Applicants must meet the following requirements:
Age: All team leads and team members must be 18–24 years old at the time of application.
Residency: Open to young innovators residing in Eastern and Southern Africa, as well as Western and Central Africa. The document specifically mentions Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Sierra Leone, with solutions addressing child marriage strongly encouraged from these countries.
Team composition: Teams of 2–5 members are strongly encouraged. Each team should designate a Team Lead who will serve as the primary contact.
Gender equity: Female-led startups and gender-balanced teams with at least 50% female membership will be prioritised.
Application category: Teams must apply under one category only. Applications submitted under multiple categories will not be evaluated.
Solution stage: Eligible solutions may be at the concept stage, early functional prototype stage or early pilot stage.
Inclusivity: Solutions must intentionally address the needs of marginalised and underserved young people, including rural youth, young women, out-of-school adolescents, displaced persons and youth with disabilities.
Low-connectivity accessibility: Solutions must work in low-bandwidth, high-cost or intermittent-connectivity environments. Applicants must explain how their technology can operate offline or through low-data approaches such as USSD, SMS fallback, progressive web apps with offline caching, lightweight media compression or local mesh/peer-to-peer syncing.
Digital and disability accessibility: Technology interfaces should incorporate inclusive design for people with different disabilities and levels of literacy/digital literacy. Examples include text-to-speech, screen-reader compatibility, high-contrast modes, voice-driven navigation, local-language audio and icon/image-based interfaces.
Intellectual property: Applicants retain ownership of their intellectual property.
Ethics: Solutions must comply with appropriate standards concerning ethical AI, human rights and data privacy.
Benefits
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.
