Good Start Challenge
When a child is born, a parent is also born. Let’s re-imagine how we care for them.
The Good Start Challenge is a €2.6 million global challenge to advance innovative solutions that improve the wellbeing of parents and caregivers of young children in underserved communities in Indonesia, the Philippines, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Senegal, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil.
The Challenge offers a unique opportunity for innovators to take their solutions to the next level with the support of local and international partners. With an initial grant of €50,000 and access to a portfolio of capacity building support, innovators will develop, test and refine their innovation, and progress to the chance to win a final award of €200,000.
Participating innovators will gain access to local community networks of parents and caregivers, as well as global and regional experts, funders and policymakers all committed to supporting parents.
Entries open on the 22nd May 2025 until the 17th September 2025
Timeline of the Challenge

Why do we need an innovation challenge to support parents of young children?
Becoming a parent is a time of significant transformation and change. New scientific findings and evidence on the critical importance parental wellbeing is emerging across the world, but more can be done to translate this knowledge into practice and to scale effective initiatives that support parents widely, especially in marginalised and underserved communities.
All parents deserve support for their mental, social and physical wellbeing and when parents thrive, we see that young children and societies flourish. Be part of the Good Start Challenge and help to uncover and call for creative solutions that can strengthen and expand the support, communities and environments that parents need most.