IIMA’s CIIE.CO Partners Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) To Launches Swanari Techsprint 2023 Supporting Financial Solutions for Women-owned MSMEs

Launches Swanari Techsprint 2023

The initiative Swanari Techsprint aims to support SMEs/MSMEs building gender transformative financial solutions, and making a positive impact on the financial inclusion landscape

IIMA’s CIIE.CO has joined hands with the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) to launch Swanari Techsprint 2023 - an initiative of RBIH - focuses on advancing ‘End to End Digital Straight Through Process (STP) Lending Solutions for Micro to Medium-sized Women-owned Enterprises’, empowering them to access the financial resources they need to flourish. This edition of Swanari Techsprint will aim to address the large credit gap faced by women owned MSMEs.

The Swanari Techsprint 2023 winners will have an opportunity to do a paid Proof of Concept (POC) with one of India’s leading financial institutions HDFC Bank, and pitch for fast track pre-seed investment at CIIE.CO. Selected startups will also gain access to CIIE.CO's extensive mentoring and networking opportunities, providing them with a strong foundation for growth and success.

Commenting on the partnership, Supriya Sharma from CIIE.CO expressed, "Swanari Techsprint 2023 aligns with our focus on financial inclusion, especially women’s financial inclusion. Women entrepreneurs own and lead less than 20% of the MSMEs in India. Among several other factors, access to capital is a huge barrier for women looking to set up and grow their businesses. We are thrilled to collaborate with RBIH to help address this massive need. We are sure that this will go a long way in supporting early stage startups that are committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of women entrepreneurs."

The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub recognises the significance of ensuring women's financial inclusion as a driving force behind economic growth. RBIH's Swanari Program taps into technology and innovation to enable 'Frictionless Finance for Every Woman in India.' RBIH works closely with the ecosystem through its various programs to help build solutions to specific problem statements. The current edition of TechSprint focuses on narrowing the gender gap by fostering innovative digital STP lending solutions tailored for women entrepreneurs. By extending chosen startups the opportunity to tap into its extensive resources and networks, RBIH aspires to drive impactful change in the financial ecosystem.

Applications for Swanari Techsprint 2023 are now open, and interested startups are invited to apply by 11th September 2023. More about this initiative here.

Built at IIM Ahmedabad, CIIE.CO is the country’s leading entrepreneurship centre and early stage technology investing platform. CIIE.CO backs fearless entrepreneurs building disruptive solutions and stands with the startups at their risky early stages, when they need most support while there is hardly any available. Through the continuum of incubation, acceleration, capital and insights – CIIE.CO offers everything it takes for these driven entrepreneurs to make a superlative impact. CIIE.CO is a Centre of Excellence backed by the Government of India’s DST. Over the last 20 years, CIIE.CO has made equity investments in more than 350 startups, accelerated over 1500 and mentored over 5000 startups over the last 20 years.

The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – is an organisation that enables frictionless finance to a billion Indians. RBIH functions as a focal platform, bringing together members of financial, technological and academic institutions, to promote and accelerate innovation across the financial sector. With a robust ecosystem that enables the exchange of ideas, research and development of prototypes, RBIH aims to not only strengthen the Indian financial system but also keep India at the forefront of global financial innovation.

Bank of Baroda and RBI's Innovation Hub Partner to Boost Financial Inclusion of Women Using Technology

RBIH launches Swanari TechSprint - a programme aimed at developing digital solutions to bridge the gender gap

Recently RBI Innovation Hub (RBIH), a wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India, has signed an MoU with IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) to develop a fintech ecosystem in India that is necessary to support and scale fintech startups in early stage.

Now in a latest, Bank of Baroda, one of India’s leading public sector banks, announced today that it is  partnering the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) to promote financial inclusion of women in India. RBIH has launched a programme on Gender & Finance named "Swanari" that seeks to combine technology with a greater focus on women to help women achieve financial security and independence. To that end, RBIH is launching the inaugural edition of Swanari TechSprint, which Bank of Baroda is supporting as a scale-up partner, to create digital solutions to close the gender gap.

TechSprints are problem-solving sessions that promote innovation and collaboration to create technology-driven solutions to complex problems. The core objective of the Swanari TechSprint is to improve financial inclusion of women in India using technology and will serve as a platform to encourage women-led start-ups and women in tech to create and produce smart, creative and sustainable solutions for underserved women from low and middle income backgrounds and women-owned enterprises in India. The Swanari TechSprint will be held from April 18 to April 22, 2022.

Shri Vikramaditya Singh Khichi, Executive Director, Bank of Baroda said, “Using technology to provide solutions to the country’s critical problems is a powerful idea. Bank of Baroda is proud to extend support to RBIH’s Swanari TechSprint initiative to help bridge the gender divide in India. A collaborative approach, centered on innovation will ensure the best outcomes for women, accelerating financial inclusion and boosting the economic empowerment of women in the country.”

The Swanari (स्व-नारी) TechSprint will bring together fintechs, financial service providers, innovators and subject matter experts to collaborate, ideate and find solutions to specific problems and code prototype solutions in real-time.

There are seven problem statements that have been identified and two event tracks are available for participation. One track will focus on creating a minimum viable product (MVP) with enough usable features to be tested by and validated by users. The second track will focus on solving problems and designing prototypes in collaboration with others. Registrations are open at www.swanaritechsprint.in.

RBIH has also released a whitepaper titled “Gender and Finance in India” supporting the Swanari TechSprint, which is available at www.swanaritechsprint.in.

About Bank of Baroda:

Founded on 20th July, 1908 by Sir Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Bank of Baroda is one of the leading commercial banks in India. At 63.97% stake, it is majorly owned by the Government of India. The Bank serves its global customer base of over 150 million through over 46,000 touchpoints spread across 18 countries in five continents. Through Its state-of-the-art digital banking platforms, it provides all banking products and services in a seamless and hassle-free manner. The recently launched bob World mobile app provides customers with a saving, investing, borrowing and shopping experience, all under one single app. The app also serves non-customers by enabling account opening through video KYC. The Bank’s vision matches its diverse clientele base and instills a sense of trust and security. It is moving well in that direction and bob World is a testimony of its roadmap towards Digital Transformation.