Karandaaz seeks to help applicants develop, refine and scale ways to reduce the gender gap in financial inclusion. Applicants’ proposed solutions are expected to lead to
- Increased uptake of financial services or products of previously un-banked and/or undeserved women
- Increased autonomy of women using accounts
- Improvement in financial capabilities of women
- Enabling environment for the growth of women-led SMEs and economically active women
- Helping women overcome the hurdles faced by the prevalent systematic discrimination in the financial marketplace
- Promoting a safer and more inclusive environment in women’s finance
Digital platform, fintechs, financial services providers such as banks, NBFIs, MFIs/MBFs, other players such as aggregators or marketplaces that enable women to generate income, send or receive payments and open a bank account. The solutions can be B2C (business-to-consumer), B2B (business-to-business) or B2B2C (business-to-business to consumer) in credit, insurance, payments & remittances, savings & personal financial management, or enabling an environment addressing challenges of women’s financial inclusion
You must have a blend of digital and non-digital solution in order to qualify for the grant.
You need to submit the complete proposal including the components mentioned in the Term sheet before the deadline i.e. March 6, 2024.
The shortlisting criteria are based on Innovativeness, Inclusivity, Scale Potential, and Impact & Team Capability of the founding/executive team. You may read more about it in the term sheet.
Up to three winners will be selected in this round.
Upto PKR 20 Million grant would be given to the selected winners subjected to idea stage, product roadmap, and growth milestones.
It is preferred that you should atleast have a proof of concept of the service/product, have solved startup issues and need funding for scale. You have a well-researched business model along with a strong team where co-founders complement each other’s strengths. They are both pre-requisites in order to qualify.
No, individual or single founder-owner start-ups are not eligible for the challenge round, either you need to have a team in place or a co-founder who shares your vision.
Karandaaz Pakistan expects all winners to be working full-time on their solutions. So the commitment is to the startup/business, not Karandaaz Pakistan. You will, however, need to commit to the meeting or exceed all mutually agreed upon growth milestones to qualify for fund tranches. Milestones will be developed assuming you are 100% committed to your venture.
Please email us at programofficedfs@karandaaz.com.pk with the subject line ‘Query for FIWC 4’
