Entries open: UNDP Youth Tech Solutions Challenge on Digital Violence

 Call for Youth-Led Tech Innovations to Combat Online Violence Against Women and Girls in Nigeria. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nigeria has officially opened applications for its groundbreaking national initiative: the Youth Tech Solutions Challenge on Digital Violence. This exciting call invites bold, youth-driven technological innovations that are already proven, operational, and making a tangible difference in protecting women and girls from online harm across the country.

Rather than funding ideas on paper, UNDP Nigeria is searching nationwide for existing, real-world digital tools, platforms, apps, services, or hybrid models that actively prevent, detect, respond to, or monitor various forms of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. From revenge porn and deepfake abuse to cyberstalking, online harassment, sextortion, and doxxing, the goal is to identify and accelerate solutions that are already saving lives and creating safer online spaces.

By shining a light on homegrown Nigerian innovations, the programme aims to celebrate and empower a new generation of young tech creators, activists, and social entrepreneurs who are fearlessly tackling one of the fastest-growing threats to gender equality in the digital age.

Successful long-listed initiatives will receive customized technical assistance, mentorship, and resources to refine, expand, and scale their impact. The six most outstanding solutions will earn national recognition and unprecedented visibility, including:

• High-profile showcasing throughout the global 2025 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign across UNDP’s digital channels, partner networks, and media outlets.
• Permanent featuring in a prestigious Innovation Spotlight exhibition at the UNDP Innovation Facility in Lagos, complete with professional documentation of each solution’s methodology, measurable results, and key lessons learned.
• Exclusive invitations to pitch directly to policymakers, regulators, telecom giants, tech companies, women’s rights organizations, and digital rights advocates in a high-level multi-stakeholder forum.

Who Can Apply?

The call is open to young Nigerian founders (typically under 35), startup teams, social innovators, university labs, and innovation hubs that have already deployed live tech or tech-enabled interventions addressing any of the four major categories of online risks faced by women and girls:

• Content risks (exposure to harmful material)
• Contact risks (dangerous interactions with perpetrators)
• Conduct risks (being coerced into harmful behavior)
• Contract risks (exploitation through digital platforms and economies)

Whether your solution uses AI-powered detection, anonymous reporting systems, community moderation tools, blockchain verification, educational gamification, or any creative blend of technology and social impact, if it is already working on the ground in Nigeria, UNDP wants to hear from you. Application Deadline: 12 December 2025. APPLY HERE

About UNDP Nigeria

The United Nations Development Programme has been a strategic partner to Nigeria since 1969, supporting the country’s aspirations for sustainable development, democratic governance, and peacebuilding. With a presence in Abuja and field offices across the federation, UNDP Nigeria works hand-in-hand with federal and state governments, civil society, private sector, and communities to address some of the nation’s most pressing challenges, including poverty reduction, climate resilience, youth empowerment, and gender equality.

In recent years, UNDP Nigeria has placed particular emphasis on digital transformation and innovation as powerful levers for inclusive growth. Through its Innovation Facility in Lagos and partnerships with tech ecosystems like Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) and Ventures Platform, the office has incubated dozens of youth-led solutions in areas ranging from civic tech and fintech for inclusion to climate-smart agriculture and now digital safety. This new call on technology-facilitated gender-based violence builds directly on UNDP Nigeria’s flagship Generation Unlimited Youth Challenge and its ongoing work under the Spotlight Initiative with the European Union, reinforcing its commitment to leaving no one behind in Nigeria’s digital future.

For full eligibility criteria, application guidelines, and to submit your solution, visit the official UNDP Nigeria webpage dedicated to the Youth Tech Solutions Challenge on Digital Violence before the deadline of 12 December 2025. APPLY HERE