The Wall Street Journal is inviting nonprofit and for-profit enterprises to enter its third annual “Financial Inclusion Challenge 2017” competition and is looking for innovators to help people in the Asia-Pacific region to become more “financially free.” Deadline for entries is on March 22.
The sample video above is the story of San Francisco-based venture capital firm Unitus Impact who is investing in financial startups not in nearby Silicon Valley, but in Vietnam (there are more good videos via the link below)
Why enter?
Create change for communities that need it most.
We are looking for innovative ideas that help people in the Asia-Pacific region to become more financially free. Both nonprofit and for-profit enterprises can apply. Organizations can be based anywhere in the world, but their product or service must focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
What happens next?
Finalists will present their innovations at the Financial Inclusion dinner in Hong Kong, where the winner will be chosen. All finalists will be invited to the first Wall Street Journal D.LIVE technology conference in Asia, where they will network with the biggest names in tech and take part in a workshop session for startup executives.
In addition, MetLife Foundation, the sponsor of the Financial Inclusion Challenge, will consider the finalists for grant funding.
How is it judged?
An independent panel of judges will assess the solutions, their impact on financial inclusion in Asia-Pacific, and how innovative they are relative to the work already being done in the field.
Judges for this year’s Financial Inclusion Challenge include Muhammad Yunus, a microlending pioneer and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner; and Michael Wiegand, director of the Financial Services for the Poor initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Applicants can be based anywhere in the world, but their product or service must focus on the Asia-Pacific region.
