{"id":4267,"date":"2026-02-08T18:57:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T18:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/?p=4267"},"modified":"2026-02-09T04:13:29","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T04:13:29","slug":"we-empower-un-sdg-challenge-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/?p=4267","title":{"rendered":"WE Empower UN SDG Challenge 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><div id=\"tdi_1\" class=\"tdc-row\"><div class=\"vc_row tdi_2  wpb_row td-pb-row\" >\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_2,\r\n                .tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n                    min-height: 0;\r\n                }\n<\/style><div class=\"vc_column tdi_4  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_4{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\" >[vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"post-172010\">\n<div>\n<p><strong>Deadline: March 8, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Applications are open for the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge 2026. Launched at the UN General Assembly in 2018 by the UN Secretary\u2011General, the President of the World Bank, and the Council of Women World Leaders, the WE (Women Entrepreneurs) Empower UN SDG Challenge is the first global competition recognizing innovative women entrepreneurs advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and inspiring communities to build a more sustainable and equitable world by 2030.<\/p>\n<p>Co\u2011Chaired by the Chief Economist of the World Bank Group; Diane von Furstenberg, Founder and Chairwoman of DVF Studio; Amanda Ellis, Senior Director at ASU\u2019s Global Futures Laboratory; and Alyse Nelson, President and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership, the Challenge champions leaders whose enterprises are reshaping communities, economies, and ecosystem. Awardees are recognized for their groundbreaking work and receive capacity-building training, visibility, and access to an unparalleled global network to advance their enterprises. The program highlights and elevates the essential contributions of women entrepreneurs and business leaders who are driving progress toward the SDGs and addressing the world\u2019s most urgent challenges.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Benefits<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Awardees will be notified by mid\u2011July 2026 and will travel to New York City during Climate Week and the 81st UN General Assembly, September 19\u201326, 2026.<\/li>\n<li>They will take part in a high\u2011impact agenda featuring pitch workshops, tailored trainings from leading and supporting partners, and curated networking with global leaders in business, policy, and philanthropy. The week will conclude with the WE Empower Pitch Challenge, hosted\u00a0by philanthropist, fashion icon, and Vital Voices Board Member Diane von Furstenberg at her New York studio, where awardees will present their enterprises to a distinguished panel of judges for a chance to win grant funding. Due to evolving U.S. visa restrictions, the team is also considering convening the 2026 WE Empower Challenge in Geneva\u2014the UN\u2019s second headquarters\u2014during the week of June 14\u201320 as an alternate option.\u00a0Applicants should be prepared and willing to travel to either location during either timeframe.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Eligibility<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>You must identify as a woman entrepreneur.<\/li>\n<li>You must lead decision-making within your entity.<\/li>\n<li>Your business or organization must have been in operation for at least three years as of August 1, 2026.<\/li>\n<li>You must employ at least three full-time employees or full-time equivalents.<\/li>\n<li>Your business or organization must generate a minimum of USD $75,000 in annual revenue. For nonprofit organizations, revenue may comprise donations, grants, and funds raised through various fundraising activities.<\/li>\n<li>You must be professionally proficient in English.<\/li>\n<li>You must be at least 21 years old by August 1, 2026.<\/li>\n<li>You must be available to travel to New York City, NY, and participate in all events from Saturday, September 19 \u2013 September 26, 2026, and\u00a0participate in virtual programming from August through October 2026.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Application<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Applications are open from 12:00AM United States Eastern Time on Monday, January 26, 2006, through 11:59PM United States Eastern Time on Sunday, March 8, 2026.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/weempower.awardsplatform.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here to apply<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For more information, visit <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/globalfutures.asu.edu\/we-empower\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">WE Empower UN SDG Challenge<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_column_text css=\"\"] Deadline: March 8, 2026 Applications are open for the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge 2026. Launched at the UN General Assembly in 2018 by the UN Secretary\u2011General, the President of the World Bank, and the Council of Women World Leaders, the WE (Women Entrepreneurs) Empower UN SDG Challenge is the first global competition [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow1K2_DA:productID":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-call-for-applications"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4267"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4267\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4382,"href":"https:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4267\/revisions\/4382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opportunityforworld.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}