Deadline: 8 March 2019
Applications are open for 2019 Inclusive Fintech 50 Competition to showcase early-stage fintechs driving financial inclusion in countries around the world.
Inclusive Fintech 50 was created to help make select early-stage fintechs more visible to investors and others who can help them scale.
Capital is available to well-known fintechs, but it’s less so for early-stage fintechs focused on financial inclusion. Greater visibility will help fintechs attract the capital and knowledge they need to scale and, ultimately, reach the 3 billion financially underserved people. Specifically, they aim to:
- Generate awareness of the ability for fintechs to reach the underserved and propel the financial services industry forward;
- Develop standardized criteria for investors to assess the performance and potential of early-stage fintech companies; and
- Create greater visibility into a pipeline of lesser-known fintechs to help them find the right partners to scale.
Benefits
Winners will be listed as the Inclusive Fintech 50 and will also receive publicity through media partnerships, digital activations, a white paper, and publicity at a global fintech event in mid-2019.
Eligibility Criteria
- All early-stage fintech companies that have raised less than USD$25 million. The fintech can be B2C (business-to-consumer), B2B (business-to-business) or B2B2C (business to business to consumer) and must have at least one product and one user. Companies applying for Inclusive Fintech 50 must have a solution in credit, insurance, payments & remittances, savings & personal financial management, or infrastructure addressing challenges of underserved segments. Companies must be legally registered in their country of operation and not subject to US sanctions programs administered by OFAC.
- All early-stage fintech companies with target markets that include underserved population segments can apply.
Selection Criteria
Fintechs applying to the Inclusive Fintech 50 should be early-stage companies focused on underserved segments. Applicants can be B2C, B2B, or B2B2C with a solution among credit, insurance, payments & remittances, savings & personal financial management, or infrastructure addressing challenges of underserved segments. Each will be scored against the following criteria:
- Inclusiveness – each Submission will be assessed for whether the Entrant’s target market includes under-served population segments and on what problem that Entrant is aiming to solve (25%);
- Innovation – each Submission will be assessed on whether their business model reduces costs, improves a product experience and opens up financial services to a previously unserved market (25%);
- Scale Potential – each Submission will be judged on the Entrant’s growth model, internal capacity, unit economics, growth strategy and total addressable market (25%); and
- Traction – each Submission will be judged on the product or solution’s stage of development, the startup’s funding and/or revenue, existing customer base, and other indicators that show early-stage traction (25%).
How to Apply
Applicants can apply online via given website.
For more information, please visit https://www.inclusivefintech50.com/apply