Deadline: April 16, 2026
Applications for the Urban Childcare Innovation Challenge 2026 are now open. The Urban Childcare Innovation Challenge is a structured incubation initiative designed to identify, strengthen, and scale women-led and women-benefitting childcare enterprises, operating in low-income urban communities across India.
It seeks to address systemic gaps in the availability, affordability, accessibility, and quality of childcare services. By advancing scalable and sustainable enterprise models, the Challenge contributes to strengthening urban care systems, reducing unpaid care burdens, and advancing women’s economic empowerment.
Benefits
- Strategic Positioning: Refining business direction and scale pathways
- Operational Strengthening: Improving service quality, systems, and compliance readiness.
- Partnership Development: Connecting with ecosystem actors across public, private, and community sectors.
- Financial Readiness: Strengthening financial management, sustainability planning, and investment preparedness.
- Inclusive and Gender-Responsive Business Models: Embedding gender equality principles within enterprise design and operations
- Mentorship: Guidance from sector experts and experienced entrepreneurs
- Capacity Development: Support from gender and care economy specialists to enhance impact and responsiveness.
- Grant Support: Grants up to USD $5,000 available to SELECT Enterprises
Eligibility
- Women-led or women benefitting (prioritising women as founders, workers or primary users of service)
- Operate across India with a focus on urban and peri-urban contexts
- Have demonstrated proof of concept (validated model, early pilot or operational testing)
- Address childcare needs of women in low-income, informal, migrant or service-sector employment.
- Show potential for scale, replication and integration with public or private systems.
Application
The Innovation Challenge is structured across four sequential phases and is expected to run for approximately 5 months in total. The Urban Childcare Innovation Challenge will run from March to August 2026. The programme begins with the Call for Applications on 16 March 2026, followed by shortlisting and onboarding of selected enterprises in April 2026.
The selected cohort will then participate in a three-month accelerator and mentorship programme from May to July 2026. The programme will conclude with a Demo Day and Grand Finale on 5 August 2026, where finalists will present their solutions to a jury and key ecosystem stakeholders.
For more information, visit Urban Childcare Innovation Challenge.
