India Finclusion Challenge 2

The India Finclusion Challenge 2 is a Hackathon organized by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Government of UK in partnership with EY to identify early-stage ideas for innovative financial products and/or distribution solutions for promoting financial inclusion thereby contributing to sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. Winning FinTechs will be awarded cash prizes worth INR 11 lakhs and growth packages amounting to INR 24 lakhs per startup over a 3-year period to help scale their solutions and take them to market.

Competition Themes & Challenge Areas

In line with the Hackathon’s objective of identifying innovative solutions for financial inclusion, participants must provide solutions across one (or more) of the following domains:

• InsurTech: Life, health, and general insurance penetration in India is 3.7% of GDP, in comparison to the world average of 6.31%. We are looking for solutions that help increase insurance penetration in India. Solutions may be developed around areas including, but not limited to:
  • Alternate risk calculation methodologies
  • Microinsurance products for the rural population
  • Solutions to increase insurance sales funnel volume
  • Personalized priced insurance products
  • Increasing insurance awareness and literacy
  • Any other solution that helps increase insurance penetration 
• RegTech: There is a need in the Indian financial system to increase the effectiveness of compliance to increase transparency and ease of doing business. The RegTech ecosystem in India is still in its nascent stage. Solutions may be developed around areas including, but not limited to:
  • Early warning systems and monitoring & reporting solutions for fraud detection 
  • Digital and Video KYC solutions
  • Regulatory reporting solutions
  • Supervisory technology solutions for regulators
  • Solutions to strengthen personal data protection
  • Any other RegTech based solution
• Financial Inclusion in COVID-19 Landscape: We are looking for solutions that can help reduce the financial hardships of retail and SME customers. Solutions may be developed around areas including, but not limited to:
  • Insurance products for COVID-19 impacted segments of the society (elderly, farmers, daily-wage workers, etc.)
  • Solutions that help in increasing financial literacy by helping create awareness on maintaining financial wellbeing in COVID-19 world
  • Solutions that help in the distribution of government grants 
  • Lending solutions for COVID-19 impacted segments of the society
  • Any other solution that provides financial help during the COVID-19 pandemic

Eligibility Criteria

• Participants must register their team by 12 June 2020 via the Dare2Compete platform or microsite link provided in the mailers sent
• Solutions presented and developed must be aligned with the pre-specified challenges listed above

Submission Guidelines

The pitch deck submissions should include:

Problem Statement: What's the big idea? What is the FinTech going to solve?

Description of the desired application: What is the FinTech building to solve the big problem? Who are the competitors and how is the solution different from the rest?

Core user scenarios: Where can the product be used? A high-level description of a few core user scenarios where the product can fit need to be provided. Who is the intended audience for the solution?

Team details: Please add a separate section stating the team members’ names and if they are working on mobile or backend implementation.

Solutioning: Outline the path the FinTech will embark to innovate and approaches to be adopted to develop the idea into a working prototype. Here we are expecting to see the list of core backend-specific and mobile-specific features. 

Stages & Timelines

Stage 1: Registration and ideation phase during which participants will create/document their solutions 

Stage 2: Submission of the Pitch Deck along with relevant product URLs, if any. This will be followed by shortlisting of the Demo Day finalists

Stage 3: Live virtual demo of the solutions by Virtual Demo Day finalists in front of a panel of judges, and declaration of winners

Team Size

1-5 people can register for the hackathon. Up to 2 of the participants registered for the hackathon can come for Demo Day.

Virtual Demo Day Rules

• Amid COVID-19, demo round will be held virtually
• Participants must present their solutions within the time-slot provided. Failure to present during the provided time-slot may result in disqualification
• Teams shortlisted for the live virtual demo will have to demonstrate a working prototype for the demo. Failure to comply will lead to disqualification 

Rewards

The winners of the hackathon will receive cash prizes of INR 11 Lakhs and growth support amounting to INR 24 Lakh per startup over three years in the form of mentorship, technical assistance, funding, and market access. The FCO or associated entities will not take any equity share from selected startups in exchange for the growth support provided. 

The cash prize details are as follows:

Winner: INR 5 lakhs

First Runner-up: INR 3 lakhs

Second Runner-up: INR 3 lakhs

In addition to the cash prizes, the 3 FinTechs will receive growth support over three years amounting to INR 24 lakhs per FinTech. Key elements of the support provided include: 

• Company Building: Access to EY’s business advisory services for consultation on matters such as company setup, transactions, tax, regulations and legal 
• Mentorship: Dedicated mentorship from successful entrepreneurs, venture capital firms and domain experts on fundraising, go-to-market strategies, technology, marketing, recruiting and other areas
• Funding Access: Support in creating investor pitches and arranging investor connect sessions to provide fundraising opportunities from a curated panel of investors 
• Market Access: Access to a global network of technology firms, corporates and financial institutions as potential partners to co-create solutions and/or take them to market

Most support activities will be delivered remotely, offering the FinTechs added convenience and flexibility. Some activities such as mentorship sessions and investor pitches will require physical presence at a pre-specified venue.