Global Partnership Cities Alliance Offers USD 50K Grants To Nigerian Tech Startups
Cities Alliance, a global partnership formed jointly by the World Bank and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements has launched an innovation program that will offer Nigerians working on innovations and accessible solutions USD 10K to USD 50K.
According to a statement, the aim for the innovation fund is to “provide opportunities for innovation and impact in community-level projects by targeting national and local organisations and constituencies typically regarded as high risk and/or hard to reach.”
Social entrepreneurs, micro enterprises, innovators, community-based organisations, national and local NGOs have been invited to tender their applications.
Cities Alliance believes that through micro-funds for Community Innovation, the initiative will address the connection between the issue of land tenure, Africa’s growing young population, and its capacity to innovate and deploy modern technologies.
The Cities Alliance is a global partnership formed jointly by the World Bank and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements to distribute grants, share information between local governments, and make policy recommendations “to counter urban poverty in developing countries”.
It stated, “Rapidly growing cities like Nigeria struggle to support people living in overcrowded slum settlements. Many of these residents live in unsanitary conditions and with the constant threat of corruption and forced eviction, all because they lack legal or formal protection to the places they live and work.”
“There is a growing number of people trying to solve this problem and Cities Alliance wants to make sure they have the funding they need to grow and scale their promising solutions. The grants will also
The global partnership that supports cities to deliver sustainable development notes that, “As global populations and urban economies expand, managing cities and providing opportunities for all citizens is essential to national prosperity, international progress, and stability.”
The UN hosted project promotes long-term programmatic approaches that help national and local governments to come up with apt policy frameworks, strengthen local expertise and capacity, undertake strategic city planning, and facilitate investment. Cities Alliance is managed through a Secretariat based in Brussels and is hosted by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). Through UNOPS, the Cities Alliance operates a Multi-Donor Fund supported by an efficient, flexible grant-making mechanism with global reach.
Featured Image Courtesy: CIO.com
