The SafeTech Africa HackLab · Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
Applications are now open for the SafeTech Africa HackLab 2026, a Youth Social Innovation Challenge designed to support young African innovators developing practical solutions for safer communities, stronger digital rights, and greater protection for women, girls, and marginalized young people.
The challenge is organized by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) across Eastern and Southern Africa and Western and Central Africa, in partnership with the Spotlight Initiative Africa Regional Programme, the Global Programme to End Child Marriage, the African Union Women, Gender and Youth Directorate, UNDP, UNICEF, and UN Women.
Launched during the African Union Innovation Festival 2026 in Addis Ababa under the theme “Vibrant Youth Ecosystems for AI and Digital Sovereignty,” the SafeTech Africa HackLab seeks to identify, incubate, fund, and scale youth led digital and community solutions. The programme focuses on addressing harmful practices and technology facilitated violence while strengthening safe access to information and digital spaces.
Young innovators, social entrepreneurs, digital rights advocates, and youth led teams from across Africa are invited to submit innovative solutions under one of three priority themes. Shortlisted finalists will receive virtual mentorship and pitch preparation before presenting their solutions at the YouthConnekt Africa Summit in November 2026. Four winning solutions will receive seed capital grants ranging from US$5,000 to US$10,000.
The SafeTech Africa HackLab is designed for young people who are building products, platforms, services, community models, or technology driven solutions that respond directly to challenges affecting women, girls, adolescents, and other underserved groups.
The initiative recognizes that technology can contribute to both protection and harm. It therefore encourages solutions that combine innovation with safety, privacy, ethical technology, accessibility, and meaningful youth leadership.
Applications should demonstrate a clear understanding of the communities being served and provide a realistic pathway from an initial solution or pilot to wider regional impact.
Solutions should be youth led and should not simply replicate an existing programme without adapting it to the needs of the intended users. Standalone research papers, essays, or one time advocacy campaigns are not considered sufficient innovations.
• Seed capital grants of US$5,000 to US$10,000 for four winners
• Virtual mentorship for shortlisted innovators
• Pitch coaching using the UNFPA Social Innovation Toolkit
• Live pitching opportunity at the YouthConnekt Africa Summit
• Exposure to investors and venture funds
• Connections with continental development partners
• Visibility through UNFPA, Spotlight Initiative, African Union, and other media channels
• Opportunity to develop and scale youth led solutions
This theme focuses on innovative ways of preventing and responding to child marriage, female genital mutilation, gender based violence, and other harmful practices.
Potential solutions may include mobile based early warning systems, referral platforms connecting girls to emergency support and legal services, digital tools supporting school retention, interactive community dialogue platforms, and youth led safe space networks.
Solutions should strengthen physical and community safety while reaching young people who may be underserved by conventional services.
This theme focuses on improving access to accurate, confidential, youth friendly information on comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Possible innovations include confidential chatbots, messaging services, USSD systems, digital learning platforms, peer support spaces, and secure referral tools.
Solutions should be accessible to rural youth, out of school adolescents, young people with disabilities, and communities with limited connectivity or digital literacy.
This theme addresses technology facilitated violence, online harassment, anti rights narratives, misinformation, censorship, and other digital threats.
Potential innovations include safety by design tools, browser extensions, encrypted reporting systems, digital self defence platforms, algorithmic auditing tools, counter narrative resources, privacy preserving artificial intelligence solutions, and decentralized publishing platforms.
Solutions should help users build digital agency while protecting privacy and supporting communities affected by online harm.
• Applicants must be young African innovators, social entrepreneurs, or digital rights advocates.
• Applicants must be between 18 and 35 years old.
• Applicants should reside in eligible countries across Eastern, Southern, Western, or Central Africa.
• Teams of 2 to 5 members are strongly encouraged.
• Each team should designate a team lead who will serve as the primary focal point.
• Female led startups and teams with at least 50 percent female membership are prioritized.
• Solutions should intentionally include marginalized and underserved groups.
• Relevant groups include rural youth, young women, out of school adolescents, displaced persons, and young people with disabilities.
• Young people should have meaningful leadership and ownership of the solution.
• Solutions should demonstrate potential for implementation and scale.
• Innovations should incorporate appropriate safety, privacy, ethical, and safeguarding measures.
Applications will be evaluated against several criteria, with particular attention to the relevance and practicality of the proposed solution.
• Problem and solution fit
• Innovation and originality
• Feasibility and viability
• Inclusion and disability accessibility
• Youth leadership
• Scalability and potential impact
• Safety, privacy, and ethics
Applicants should prepare the following information for the online application:
• Team lead details
• Team member details
• Ages of team members
• Gender composition
• Nationalities
• Contact information
• Roles within the team
• Selection of one HackLab theme
• Problem statement of no more than 200 words
• Innovation description of no more than 700 words
• 12 month implementation roadmap
• Expected outputs and milestones
• Digital safety and inclusion note
• Safeguarding measures
• Data privacy considerations
• Accessibility considerations
The problem statement should clearly identify the affected community, where the community is located, the challenges being experienced, why the problem matters, and the potential cost of inaction.
The innovation description should explain how the product, platform, or solution works, the technology involved, the benefits for users, and its potential for scalability.
Applications opened on September 29, 2026 and close on October 18, 2026.
Following the application deadline, entries will undergo technical review by a multidisciplinary panel. Eight finalists are expected to be selected during the review period.
Shortlisted finalists will participate in a virtual introduction, showcase, and pitch preparation session in early November. The finalists will then proceed to the live pitch and awards stage at the YouthConnekt Africa Summit scheduled for November 25 to 27, 2026.
Four winning solutions will receive seed capital grants between US$5,000 and US$10,000.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,
The SafeTech Africa HackLab
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