Deadline: 10 February 2019
Did you know that only 27% Indians have health insurance and that 60% MSMEs lack access to formal credit? Can you make the lives of a billion people better – through better financial services and helping them improve their livelihoods? If yes, then you can take part in the second cohort of the one-of-its-kind ‘Financial Inclusion Lab’ programme.
Applicants are invited to apply for the Financial Inclusion Lab, a CIIE initiative which is supported by The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, J.P. Morgan, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, and the Omidyar Network.
The Financial Inclusion Lab has been set up by CIIE as a part of its Bharat Inclusion Initiative. It aims to improve the financial health of India’s underserved communities by supporting startups in the areas of Financial Services, Skilling and Livelihoods. The Lab is also collaborating with MicroSave Consulting, an international financial inclusion consultancy firm, to provide participating startups high-touch consulting and insights into the low-and-middle income (LMI) segment. Thus, the Lab brings together an unparalleled combination of domain experts, thought leaders and the best management brains in the country to help build and scale inclusive innovations.
The Lab will support the selected startups in identifying and validating sustainable scale up strategies through expert-led field studies, intensive workshops, mentoring, and financial support. Up to 10 startups will be selected for this 20-week long acceleration programme.
Benefits
Each selected startup will receive the following support:
- Capital of up to INR 30 lakhs for Market Validation
- Mentoring through diagnostics and clinics with LMI-focused practitioners and domain experts
- Field studies led by LMI experts to gather customer and market insights
- Curated sessions by faculty and experts at IIM Ahmedabad
- Access to CIIE’s exclusive Founder Network of 300+ startup founders
- Extensive visibility through our platforms and networks
- Portfolio support up to one year to help connect with customers, channel partners and investors
- Investment readiness advisory and preparation
- Cloud credits, legal, marketing and other ancillary services worth an additional INR 20 lakhs
Startup they seek
- Solving real and critical problem(s) for low and middle-income customers in the areas of financial services, skill development, and livelihood generation
- Have validated their solution through paying customers, stickiness, referrals and similar metrics
- Ready with scalable solutions that leverage ICT, especially open-access inclusive platforms such as India
- Stack and others
- Feature strong teams with complementary skill sets and founders working full-time only on the solution
How to Apply
Applicants must apply online via given website.
For more information, please visit https://bharatinclusion.in/financial-inclusion-lab.html