04 March 2025 – Twenty-five teams of innovators from around the world, all using emerging technologies to accelerate sport’s contribution to sustainable development, have been selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to join its new Tech365 Explore think tank. Throughout 2025, these innovators will come together to exchange ideas and best practices to benefit people, communities and the planet.
In the second phase of the project, Tech365 Incubate, think tank members will have the opportunity to apply for grants up to USD 40,000 to develop and scale their innovations. Funded projects will serve as case studies, and recipients will share their progress with the collective. Those not receiving funding will still benefit from expert advice to improve their tech ideas.
This initiative is part of the Olympism365 Innovation Hub, a collaboration between the IOC, Beyond Sport and Women Win that supports innovations that use sport to foster social change globally.
The successful candidates joining Tech365 Explore are:
- PiTCH – Players in Training, Coaching and Health (Great Britain): Exploring generative artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to develop a collaborative online knowledge-sharing system.
- Positive Impact Events (Global): Supporting inclusion and sustainability in sports event organisation through multiple types of tech innovation.
- Tom Edwards at City St George’s, University of London (Great Britain): Developing an application to encourage sports activity in non-traditional locations.
- Eleven Campaign (Global): Promoting social inclusion and diversity in sport worldwide.
- Women Emerging (Great Britain, Global): Building the WE Hub, an AI-powered platform to maintain an ecosystem of knowledge for women leading in sport and beyond.
- All In For Sport (USA): Creating a decentralised coordination technology for community-led projects, advancing inclusion and empowerment through sport.
- RAIS3 Partners (USA): Developing community-centred, equity-first, accessible sports innovations.
- Sports Beyond Limit Mindset (Kenya): Applying technology to adaptive sports programmes, to enhance accessibility for people with disabilities.
- Never Stop Playing Sports (Japan): Using youth-friendly digital platforms to deliver accessible information and training around menstruation.
- Teampact (South Africa): Enabling organisations to spend more time on programme delivery and improvement, using a digital monitoring and evaluation platform.
- Special Olympics Europe Eurasia Foundation (Global): Developing an inclusive sports analytical app to improve the meaningful participation of marginalised groups.
- Invictus Sport (Australia): Connecting grassroots athletes with elite athletes and coaches to receive personalised feedback to improve their skills.
- Bamako Technologie (Mali): Developing an electricity-generating bike to enable households to meet their essential energy needs during Mali’s ongoing electricity crisis.
- eMuseum of Sports (Brazil): Creating virtual museums by using technology, gamification, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and AI to achieve spectator interaction and accessibility for people with disabilities.
- Fundación Gold Sports (Colombia): Developing a digital platform integrating interactive content and tools to promote sport and mental well-being in vulnerable communities.
- Athletepreneur (USA): Delivering mobile-based financial literacy education to athletes globally, fostering economic independence beyond sport.
- 5 Ironmans Beat Alzheimer (Global): Bringing innovation in biological sciences into sport by developing athlete-focused health and wellness technologies.
- Sportiw (France): Developing a data- and AI-driven community platform that connects athletes, coaches, clubs and recruiters globally, creating opportunities for underrepresented groups.
- Propelathon (India): Facilitating strategic connections and investment in innovative sports technology.
- Girls First Initiative (Tanzania): Integrating VR and AI to address social issues such as gender-based violence and gender inequity.
- Community Innovation Hub (Nigeria): Developing immersive sports AR and VR experiences to engage users in environmentally conscious activities and promote physical activity.
- Maria Luisa Zambrano Rojas (Colombia): Producing sports management software focused on automatic action detection in combat sports.
- Bonito Foundation (Sweden): Supporting people and organisations through a digital platform that provides meeting spaces to build relationships, educate coaches and organise activities.
- Sarreya Sport (Somalia): Developing technologies at the intersection of Web3, behavioural science and women’s sport.
- love.futbol (South Africa, Global): Developing a digital training platform and community for global stakeholders to interact, connect and engage.
ENHANCING LIFE QUALITY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
In Brazil, an educational tech platform is using cutting-edge technology to create virtual museums for people with disabilities. eMuseum of Sports uses AI to allow users to experience virtual sports in a travelling 3D VR simulator, providing sporting memories in an immersive and collaborative manner.
Being a part of the Tech365 Explore cohort, I hope to gain a precious network to exchange experiences and update our knowledge on emerging technologies, so that we can adjust them and utilise them better within our projects, countries and activities. I believe that knowledge is more effective when we are connected in a network. Bianca Gama Pena, Creator of eMuseum of Sports
SPORT AND TECHNOLOGY FOR INCLUSION
Great Britain-based organisation Eleven Campaign operates in 15 countries and uses technology to address the lack of accessibility to sport in certain countries. It is fully run by volunteers, and their work encompasses multiple innovations to achieve social inclusion.
We have seen great results and confirmed it is certainly a way forward. As part of the Tech365 Explore, we are hoping to learn about best practices globally and meet likeminded innovators with whom we can discuss how to overcome challenges and access funding opportunities. Kyriakos Kyriakopoulos, Chief Operating Officer, Eleven Campaign
DRIVING INNOVATION THROUGH THE OLYMPISM365 INNOVATION HUB
The Olympism365 Innovation Hub, a collaboration between the IOC, Beyond Sport and Women Win, is a bespoke programme and fund supporting over 60 innovations that use sport for sustainable development around the world, through a multimillion-dollar investment that will benefit thousands of people and communities by 2026.
Aiming to foster new and innovative ways to use sport for social change, four distinct funding opportunities have been launched through the Innovation Hub: Grassroots365, Enterprise365, Collective365 and Tech365.
OLYMPISM365 SUMMIT: SPORT FOR A BETTER WORLD
The “Olympism365 Summit: Sport for a Better World” will showcase the collective impact of over 500 sport and community initiatives that directly contribute to the UN SDGs.
The invitation-only event, organised by the IOC, will be held from 3 to 5 June in Lausanne, Switzerland. Representatives from the Olympic Movement, UN agencies, development and financing institutions, civil society and for-purpose business will share best practices and explore new co-investment opportunities.
