- The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) and IIMA Ventures have announced the launch of Swanari TechSprint 3.0
- This program aims to provide support to fintech startups in developing solutions to improve women’s financial inclusion in India
The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), in partnership with IIMA Ventures, the startup incubator of IIM Ahmedabad, is announcing the launch of Swanari TechSprint 3.0, a program that will support fintech startups to identify and develop solutions to advance financial inclusion for women in India.
The goal of the Swanari TechSprint 3.0 program is to generate solutions with a practical pathway to meet the financial needs of women and advance access to appropriate financial services for women, who have been largely neglected.
Swanari TechSprint 3.0 will provide necessary, ongoing support in terms of mentoring, grants, and funding to assist selected startups in developing, iterating, and scaling their products. The focus will be on developing high-quality gender-inclusive financial solutions that meet the needs of women.
Aakarsh Naidu, Head of Fintech & Startups at RBIH stated, "Financial inclusion is a core pillar of India's growth story. Swanari TechSprint will help identify innovators who will support women’s financial needs."
As per the World Bank report, the program focuses on more than 556 million women aged 15-64, with self-help groups, woman-owned MSMEs and women street vendors as primary constituents.
Startups that serve women and offer gender-inclusive financial solutions are welcome to apply, and, particularly those with at least a minimum viable product (MVP) and an ability to demonstrate an ability to raise pre-seed to pre-Series A funding or early revenue traction.
Supriya Sharma, Partner at IIMA Ventures, pointed out that even if financial inclusion has improved, women in India face significant barriers to accessing appropriate providers.
She stated that the program invites fintech innovators to see how they can solve the issues around inactive bank accounts, limited options for savings, or women entrepreneurs finding debt.
The Swanari program has previously awarded startups, including Kaleidofin, Merakal, Vitto, Anniyam Payment, MaksPay, Manipal Business Solutions, Sampatti Card, Haqdarshak, and Agripal within the fintech sector.
RBIH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, aims to use innovative technology to enable finance access for people in India.
