ChildTech Challenge, the call that seeks to support startups focused on social and child development

In Colombia and other Latin American countries, there are many start-ups and initiatives that focus on social development through the provision of resources to children and adolescents, and there are not a few projects that remain anonymous and do not receive the recognition they deserve beyond the thanks of the communities benefited.

That is why this Thursday, March 31, the initiative 'ChildTech 2022' will be launched in the country, which seeks startups that focus on social development based on the solution to key problems suffered by children and adolescents. This call will also aim to promote the use of technological resources that enhance the impact within the favored populations, thus reducing costs and reaching more people.

This project, which is carried out by Impactus Ventures and the United Way Foundation, will be launched online at 10:00 a.m. and will feature interventions from experts in entrepreneurship ecosystems from both Colombia and other countries in the region. The panel will include Freddy Vega, CEO and co-founder of Platzi, Mario Romero, Managing Director of Impact Hub Mexico and Andreana Castellanos, CEO and Co-founder of Afinidata on EdTech.

For Cristina Gutiérrez de Piñeres, director of the United Way Colombia Foundation, the project seeks in regions such as Colombia and Mexico “solutions with the potential for scalability and reach (...) that positively impact the development of our children's lives in areas such as education, equity, employability, among others others”.

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He also indicated that non-profit organizations can also participate, as well as other organizations that are present in Latin America or have the capacity to solve key problems in the region, especially in the countries mentioned above; he even pointed out the incentives that the winners of the project will receive.

“The startups that participate will receive support that will include advisories and acceleration workshops, and the winners will be awarded up to $30,000 in cash for real implementations with us,” Gutiérrez de Piñeres said.

It is worth mentioning that the ChildTech Challenge 2022 will be available in Colombia, Mexico and Chile; in fact, the launch will be available in all three countries and registration can be done on the United Way Colombia portal.

“If you are a startup with a focus on children from scratch, teenagers or adults around them, you can't miss this space!” mentions the initiative which, in addition, is supported by the Femsa Foundation. And there are many problems that children face in these parts of the continent, not only of a medical nature, but also of an environmental nature.

Air pollution is increasingly affecting children and young people, and on this, scientists at the University of Denver have discovered that air pollution could trigger depression in children. This new paper published in the journal Developmental Psychology suggests that ozone exposure from air pollution has been linked to an increase in depressive symptoms among adolescents.

In that regard, Erika Manczak, an assistant professor of psychology at that university, said that “I think our findings really speak to the importance of considering the impact of air pollution on mental health as well as physical health.” Thus, a good reception is expected by Colombian startups in the call.

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