IIMA's CIIE.CO Partners With RBI's Innovation Hub To Support Women MSMEs Swanari Techsprint by RBIH is an annual programme that offers a platform to conceptualise, develop and support innovations in technology that enhance access, usage and quality of financial services for women in India
By Teena Jose •
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IIM Ahmedabad's startup incubator CIIE.CO on Wednesday said it has partnered with the Reserve Bank of India's subsidiary Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) for this year's Swanari Techsprint 2023 programme.
Swanari Techsprint by RBIH is an annual programme that offers a platform to conceptualise, develop and support innovations in technology that enhance access, usage and quality of financial services for women in India. The registrations for the programme are underway till September 11, 2023
"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," said Supriya Sharma, CIIE.CO
According to an official statement, the winners of the Swanari Techsprint will be offered an opportunity to undertake a paid Proof of Concept (POC) with private sector lender HDFC Bank and also to pitch for pre-seed investment at CIIE.CO. The selected startups will also get access to CIIE.CO mentoring and networking opportunities.
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 (straight through process) lending solutions tailored for women entrepreneurs.
Last week, the pilot project of RBI's Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit developed by RBIH was launched to focus on non-collateral MSME loans, Kisan Credit Card loans up to INR 1.6 lakh per borrower, Dairy Loans, Personal loans and Home loans through participating banks.
