Zimbabwe Youth Innovation HackLab 2026 (US$5,000 Seed Funding per Winning Category)

The Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training, in partnership with the United Nations Youth Group chaired by UNFPA, invites young people ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe to submit innovative ideas addressing some of the country's most pressing development challenges.

Opportunity: Zimbabwe Youth Innovation HackLab 2026. Type: innovation challenge, seed funding and entrepreneurship. Support funding: US$5,000 per winning category. Eligible applicants: young people aged 18 to 35.

Eligibility criteria

Age and residency

• All team members must be between 18 and 35 years old at the time of application.
• All applicants must be ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe.

Individual and team applications

• Individuals may apply.
• Teams of two to five members are strongly encouraged.
• Each team must identify one Team Lead who will serve as the primary contact throughout the process.
• Teams with at least 40% female membership will be prioritised.
• All-female teams are equally eligible and encouraged.

Innovation requirements

• Each application must select one category only. Applications spanning multiple categories will not be considered.
• Ideas may be at concept, early prototype or early pilot stage.
• Fully operational businesses are not eligible unless they are pivoting to address a root cause in a materially different way.

Additional eligibility conditions

• Applicants may be employed, students or self-employed.
• Affiliation with a university, NGO, private company or government body does not disqualify an applicant, provided the innovation idea is not proprietary to that institution.
• Applicants who previously received a UNFPA or UN agency innovation award in Zimbabwe cannot apply with the same idea. Previous award recipients may apply with a new idea addressing a different root cause.

How to apply: complete the official online application form before the closing date. The form and the full call for applications are on the UNFPA Zimbabwe website (Zimbabwe Youth Innovation HackLab 2026). Application deadline: 20 October 2026 at 23:59 CAT.