RBIH & IIMA Ventures to Support Fintech Startups for Women's Financial Inclusion

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 9 January 2025

To launch the latest cohort of its Swanari TechSprint 3.0 programme to boost fintech startups for creating solutions that advance women’s financial inclusion in India. IIM Ahmedabad’s startup incubator IIMA Ventures has partnered with The innovation arm of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH). The programme would help startups conceptualize, develop, and scale their solutions that cater to women’s financial needs through mentorship, grants, and other funding support.

The Head of Fintech & Startups, Reserve Bank Innovation Hub Aakarsh Naidu, speaking on the programme said, “Financial inclusion is a fundamental pillar of India’s Growth Story, and Swanari TechSprint serves as a platform to identify and support innovators dedicated to addressing the unique financial needs of women.”

To boost access to finance for women RBIH’s Swanari programme was set up, aiming to benefit more than 556 million women (aged 15 to 64 as per World Bank data) across various segments with a particular focus on self-help groups, women-owned MSMEs and women street vendors.  

Currently, the programme is inviting applications from startups working on gender-inclusive financial solutions, targeting those with a demonstrable minimum viable product and having received pre-seed to pre-Series A funding, or generating revenues or traction.

Supriya Sharma, Partner – Insights, IIMA Ventures said, “Women in India face persistent hurdles in accessing financial services tailored to their needs, despite advances in financial inclusion. The Swanari TechSprint is a call to action for fintech innovators to address these gaps, whether it is inactive bank accounts, limited savings options, or the struggle women entrepreneurs face in securing credit,”

The winners of the programme’s previous cohorts included Kaleidofin, Merakal, Vitto, Anniyam Payment, MaksPay, Manipal Business Solutions, Sampatti Card, Haqdarshak and Agripal. The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, focusing on leveraging technology and innovation to enable access to easy finance for the people of India.