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Four winners will receive grants of $5,000–$10,000 each.
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Applications close on October 18.
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Nigeria is not named in the detailed residency criteria.
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Proposals must account for privacy and unreliable internet access.
October 13, (THEWILL) – Young innovators tackling online abuse, child marriage and female genital mutilation can apply for SafeTech Africa HackLab 2026, a UNFPA-backed challenge offering four seed grants.
Applications close at 10.59 pm WAT on October 18, according to the official call.
Check Residency Before Applying
Although its introduction invites entries from across Africa, the detailed rules specify residents of Eastern and Southern Africa, alongside Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Sierra Leone. Nigeria is not listed.
Nigerian residents should therefore obtain clarification from the organisers before preparing an application. The general invitation does not establish their eligibility.
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Safety Must Be Part of the Product
The call accepts early-stage ideas and prototypes, including reporting tools, referral services and privacy-preserving responses to digital abuse. Designs must accommodate limited connectivity and protect users’ information.
For example, an abuse-reporting service should consider what happens if someone else accesses the user’s phone.
An application that works during a demonstration could expose its intended users if notifications reveal sensitive information.
Applicants must choose one theme and provide a problem statement, innovation description, implementation roadmap and safety measures. The application portal is linked from UNFPA’s announcement.
Joy Onuorah is a business journalist and brand communications specialist covering financial markets, artificial intelligence, digital economy, and the ideas reshaping business across Africa and the global market. Beyond her reporting for TheWill, Joy uses brand strategy, storytelling, copywriting, and high-value SEO to help brands build lasting market authority.
