Locations
BOOST Impact Acceleration Program
Background
BOOST was launched in 2020 as part of UNDP’s broader effort in bringing together partners committed to addressing the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic by directly supporting innovators and organizations to accelerate their social impact. Since then, it has evolved into a platform for UNDP and partners to run local, regional, and cross-regional calls for innovations by startups, impact ventures, SMEs, CSOs and academic institutions, that target complex development challenges.
Objectives
- create a space to co-design and run innovation challenges across UNDP together with partners that can generate learnings on systemic impacts across diverse solutions, organizations, and cohorts
- leverage collaboration, learnings, and experience-sharing between changemakers, partners, experts, and the global UNDP community
- provide funding, training, and mentorship to selected participants through an online program
- accelerate impact of innovative solutions in the region from organizations of all shapes and sizes.
- promote partnerships with businesses and governments.
Major Achievements
- Strengthened regional innovation ecosystem and community, through launch of five open calls, attracting close to 500 applicants. Calls have focused on digitalization, well-being, low-touch economies, the gender digital divide, and green transformation.
- Accelerated businesses and SDG alignment of 79 graduating organisations from the intensive, 3-month BOOST acceleration programme, which has involved over 200 hours of capability-building sessions in entrepreneurship, digital transformation, behavioral insights, and impact measurement and management.
- Unlocked capital for SDGs. Regionally + Türkiye: US$415,000 provided in grants; additional US$415,000 invested through organizations’ co-financing; US$20,000 mobilized from the Turkish YapiKredi Bank; at least US$100,000 mobilized through crowdfunding campaigns developed through the program. Local version in Kosovo, “BOOST Kosovo Green Challenge”, scaled through support by the Embassy of Japan and leveraged by EBRD in grants.