African fintech firms have a decent chance of winning a global fintech competition. The Center for Financial Inclusion (CFI) has announced the commencement of the third year of the Inclusive Fintech 50 (IF50), a competition to identify the most promising inclusive fintech businesses pushing the boundaries of innovation. This year’s competition aims to honor early-stage fintechs that are assisting low-income consumers and micro- and small businesses in not just responding to the epidemic, but also rebounding, rebuilding, and recovering from the damage of the previous year.
Here Is What You Need To Know
- With assistance from Accion and IFC, IF50 is sponsored by Visa, MetLife Foundation, and Jersey Overseas Aid & Comic Relief. In its first two years, IF50 received submissions from almost 700 companies in 162 countries, with a total client base of about 175 million. Every year, an impartial judging team of global fintech professionals evaluates the applications and chooses 50 winners based on four criteria: inclusiveness, innovation, scale potential, and traction.
- Participation in the competition gives businesses recognition and credibility among investors, as well as media and partnership exposure; the 2019 cohort’s 19 winners have secured a total of $182.5 million in funding. In addition, this year’s winners will be showcased in early November at Financial Inclusion Week, a CFI-sponsored annual virtual event for the inclusive financial community to explore the latest advances and critical problems. The winners will also be mentioned in the study findings and media attention for this year. For example, several publications from the past two years prominently featured IF50 winners.
- New incentives for IF50 winners in the 2021 competition include access to Practical Company Skills, a worldwide digital platform established by Visa that provides free training materials to help small and micro business owners make confident, educated decisions about their firms’ growth. The winners will be allowed to personalize and co-brand this turnkey solution to help the small and micro enterprises they serve in their local recovery efforts.
- Eligible winners will automatically pre-qualify for Visa Fintech Fast Track, a program that aims to speed up the process of integrating with Visa and its ecosystem partners and helps fintechs enhance and introduce new and innovative payment experiences. These tools, together with the networking and platform that IF50 provides, serve as an invaluable platform for startups at the earliest stages of their journey.
How To Apply
The application window opened on Monday, June 28 2021 and interested startups are encouraged to apply by July 23 via the IF50 website.
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Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning write