How can we provide financially excluded individuals and small enterprises with the tools they need to withstand financial shocks and build wealth?Over 1.8 billion adults are still unbanked or poorly served by existing financial products and services, leaving them unable to pursue economic opportunities, vulnerable to shocks, and at risk of permanent debt or even modern slavery. While the number of people with formal accounts has increased, with mobile phones as a key enabler, innovation is still needed to give underserved or excluded populations the ability to safely transfer and save funds, borrow money, and manage risks with insurance, both for individuals and for their micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The drivers of financial exclusion include lack of access to the internet and financial service agents, unclear explanations of product offerings, lack of formal ID, and discrimination, particularly against women, ethnic minorities, people of color, persons with disabilities, displaced communities, and low-income populations. Ensuring access to tools that allow everyone to take risks, plan for the future, and survive upheavals will require tailored solutions that provide equitable access to affordable financial services. Technology and innovation can help with both increasing access to appropriate services as well as creating products, such as loans secured by digital collateral or weather-indexed micro insurance, that meet the financial needs of the unbanked and underbanked.
WORTH
- All Solver teams selected for Solve Global Challenges and the Indigenous Communities Fellowship will receive a $10,000 grant funded by Solve.
ELIGIBILITY
- Open for all nationalities
- From 18 ages and above are eligible to apply
DEADLINE: May 9, 2023
To apply and for more information visit here
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