Deadline: 20 July 2019
Applicants are invited to apply for the 2019 Arab Financial Inclusion Innovation Prize which rewards those who can increase access to financial services, reduce the costs of that access, and better serve end clients in the region.
Prize equips promising innovators with the funding and support they need to realise their potential to further financial inclusion in the Arab world.
Through the prize and AFIIP network, they aim to create a synergy between financial inclusion and innovation to strengthen and diversify both sectors and harness the new and adaptive technologies defining their world.
Prize Information
AFIIP 2019 is expanding to increase its impact on financial inclusion in the Arab world. Winners of this year’s prize will receive a cash grant and technical post-prize support.
Innovation Fields
Innovation is necessary to improve efficiency and competitiveness of the sector, in order to provide further access to financial services. AFIIP field of innovation are divided into three types:
- Core Innovations: It is simplify and update processes inside the existing ecosystem. They innovate from within through incremental changes.
- Adjacent Innovations: Its apply successful products and services to new markets or develop new products for an existing domain. Best practices from the private sectors such as marketing and client management can thus be implemented in a new sector.
- Transformational Innovations: It is contrast with adjacent and core innovations. They create a new offering for new markets. Blockchain and fintech have shown their capacity for this kind of innovation in their ability to create new fields of operation.
Eligibility Criteria
- Geography: Eligible proposals must be by Arabs for the Arab world. Residency in an Arab country is not required, but at least one member of the team must hold an Arab nationality. The proposed innovation must be for implementation in the Arab world, defined as the member countries of the Arab league.
- Stage of Development: Innovative proposals at all stages of development are welcome. Applicants must be able to show that their innovation can be successfully applied to the sector. Microfinance and financial inclusion are defined in their broadest sense to encompass a wide range of fields, including but not limited to: credit, savings, insurance, payment services, Islamic finance, fund transfers, responsible investment, collective banking, and business development services of micro-enterprises.
- Team: They welcome applicants of many types to apply for the prize, including individuals, small businesses, MFIs, NGOs, students, cooperatives, commercial banks, local development banks, leasing firms, insurance companies, and fintech enterprises.
Judging Criteria
- The Team – their backgrounds, capability and cohesiveness.
- Innovation – proving that the proposal offers a new, creative solution to existing problems and make processes more efficient.
- Impact on financial inclusion – based on AFIIP’s three core objectives to further financial inclusion: increasing outreach, reducing costs and better serving end-clients. A preference was given to innovations with a direct measurable impact on the end clients.
- Marketability – demonstrating a significant probability of finding a market in the Arab world, an understanding of the existing market, and evidencing potential for scalability and growth.
- Implementation – demonstrating how the proposal can be effectively implemented in the Arab world within a defined timeframe.
- Quality of proposal and funding – providing a clear proposal with an outline of relevant funding and budget expectations.
How to Apply
Interested applicants can apply online via given website.
For more information, visit https://www.afiip.org/