The Inter-American Development Bank Is Holding a Contest for Water, Sanitation, and Health Startups

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is currently in search of creative minds and and innovative startups in Latin America working on water, sanitation, hygiene and health projects. Through its Demand Solutions initiative, an open call for proposals is underway from now until July 5, and the best of the best will be chosen to head to Buenos Aires in November to compete for various rewards.

The bank stresses that it wants more than just ideas. The institution is looking for candidates with “a solution or product already under operation (not just an idea), or at least a viable product currently being tested by users in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Those with the most-promising pitches will get to go to the capital of Argentina on November 15 to sell their project in front of the jury of judges at Venture Night. The best proposal submitted will even get an all-expenses-paid invitation to the event. Then, after all the cases are heard, up to a dozen winners will be selected. Three will get the prestigious IDB-FEMSA Water Prize and others will be rewarded with an intensive day-and-half program to support their growth, along with the chance to meet experienced mentors.

Venture Night is reserved for “the most innovative and disruptive startups from Latin America and the Caribbean.” The IDB encourages anyone with an innovative solution for improving lives in the following categories to make their submissions now.

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

• Improving water sanitation (systems, applications, programs, games, etc.)
• Producing applications and programs for water data
• Creating innovative hygiene systems (domestic water treatment, toilets, hand-washing habits, water, recycling, etc.)
• Improving water quality (techniques, applications, systems, platforms, programs, etc.) and monitoring systems
• Mobile solutions and applications against infectious diseases such as: cholera, malaria, dengue, trachoma, schistosomiasis, worm infections, Guinea worm disease, neglected tropical diseases, chikungunya, and zika among others.

Health

• Closing the existing maternal and child health indices gaps
• Improving nutrition during pregnancy and early infancy
• Checking the growing incidence of non-communicable chronic diseases
• Promoting healthy nutrition and eating habits
• Creating healthcare technology and design
• Cloud labs
• Mobile technology applications, 3D printing, robotics, virtual reality for health.

The full contest rules can be found on the Inter-American Development Bank website. Other questions should be sent to [email protected] or [email protected].