Page 13 - Identifying and scaling AI startups for SDGs

Identifying and scaling AI startups for SDGs

Table 1: Pre-screening Questions for AI for Good Innovation Factory

Categories Selection Questions

AI Use Does the startup effectively use artificial intelligence as a core
component of its product or service?

Alignment with SDGs Does the startup contribute to at least one of the 17 SDGs through
its AI-driven solutions?

Operational Status Has the startup been registered and operational for at least 6
months?

Funding Cap Has the startup received less than 1 million USD in funding?

Team Composition and Does the team composition reflect a commitment to gender
Gender Equality equality?

Online Presence Does the company have a functional website that is clearly evident
from their application?
Does the company demonstrate an active online presence
through visible social media pages?
Tangible Progress for Can the startup demonstrate concrete evidence of service or
Early-Stage Startups product development, such as prototypes, beta versions, or a
Minimum Viable Product (MVP)?

Business Plan and Objec- Does the startup have a well-defined, consolidated, and validated
tives business plan with clearly articulated objectives?

Presentation Quality Does the startup provide a clear and persuasive presentation that
describes the business idea, target market, business model, and
team?

After the screening process, each startup is evaluated according to several key criteria, with a
specific weighting factor applied to each item based on its significance in the overall evaluation.
Each criterion is scored on a scale ranging from very poor (1) to excellent (5). This approach
ensures a thorough and consistent assessment, identifying the startups with the greatest
potential.

Table 2: Evaluation scoresheet AI for Good Innovation Factory

Categories Explanations
Company Mission and How meaningful is the impact of the startup solution to address
Vision critical sustainable development issues?
Partnerships, Alliances, Has the startup carefully considered the route to market as well as
and Channels alliances and partnerships?
Uniqueness of Value How clear, compelling, and unique is the startup value proposi-
Proposition tion?
Security How well is security considered and built in?

Problem Does the startup clearly identify problems? Are the problem and
need real? Is it big enough to tackle?

5