October 23rd marks the start of the Fincluders Bootcamp 2017, a two-week investment readiness and coaching program held in Luxembourg and Frankfurt am Main, aimed at nurturing innovative young financial technology companies with ideas for increasing financial inclusion in many countries worldwide, for farmers in Kenya to merchants in Jordan. 

Fincluders Bootcamp, a unique investment readiness program

Financial technology is highly relevant to advance financial inclusion and provide access to responsible finance. The Fincluders Startup Competitions held in Berlin, Germany and Amman, Jordan by the leading micro and small enterprise funds EFSE and SANAD are testimony to the range and maturity of concepts and ideas that are evolving globally to close significant finance gaps. Building on this success, the EFSE and SANAD, through their Technical Assistance Facilities, have invited those promising fintechs who are developing inclusive financial services to underserved groups across the target countries of the two funds to the Fincluders Bootcamp 2017. The Fincluders Bootcamp 2017 is a unique investment readiness program designed for such young fintechs and is held in partnership with Finance in Motion, Village Capital and the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT Foundation).

The bootcamp will provide 12 selected startups with intensive mentoring, coaching and peer to peer learning. It will take place in Luxembourg and Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The bootcamp will also offer targeted networking and exposure visits that support the startups in their development. As fintechs are part of a dynamic financial sector and often cooperating with traditional banks and microfinance institutions, the bootcamp will provide a good platform for partnering financial institutions of EFSE and SANAD to meet and exchange with fintechs to discuss potential for cooperation in the EFSE and SANAD countries to advance financial inclusion.

Elvira Lefting, Managing Director at Finance in Motion commented: “EFSE and SANAD have been at the forefront of embracing financial technology as an important conduit to provide affordable and accessible finance to micro and small enterprises. It has been rewarding to see that there is a long list of strong fintechs dedicated to enabling financial inclusion. As Advisor to the EFSE and SANAD we aim with this Fincluders Bootcamp to give the necessary push and support for promising initiatives to develop into scalable and sustainable businesses to advance financial inclusion. Thanks go out to LHoFT Foundation and Village Capital for designing a strong Bootcamp.”

Nasir Zubairi, CEO of the LHoFT Foundation added: “The Fincluders Financial Inclusion Bootcamp kicks off today in Luxembourg. Luxembourg is the microfinance centre for Europe and it makes sense to capitalise on this by having 12 really incredible startups from all over the world spend the week in the Grand Duchy learning as well as discussing the latest challenges of Financial Inclusion and networking with the Luxembourg finance community, before moving on to Frankfurt and Techquartier for another week of enlightening experience. We are thrilled to be working with Finance and Motion, the EFSE and SANAD Funds and Village Capital to execute this epic programmed and are excited by the potential impact. We very much appreciate the support we have received within Luxembourg from all the inclusive finance stakeholders, the ADA (Aide au développement Autonome), the Ministry of Finance and others to make this a reality.”

Ben Younkman, Manager New Initiatives at Village Capital added: “Village Capital is excited to work with FIM and LHoFT as we expand our work across Europe. Access to financial services is a basic human need, and the entrepreneurs in the Fincluders boot camp have identified truly innovative models to expand financial inclusion across Eastern Europe and the Middle East. We’re excited to bring our insights from working with over 700 startups to the challenges the Fincluders participants face, and help them scale their ventures and their impact.”

The 12 qualified startups

Tarfin: Turkey

Provides underbanked farmers with competitive point-of-sale financing for farm inputs.

Quotanda: Spain/Mexico

Lending-as-a-service platform for schools, providing access to student finance options.

Agrocenta: Ghana

Online trade hub connecting farmers and buyers and on-demand logistics service.

Moneyfellows: Egypt

Lending and saving with friends and family through the use of social reputation.

POSRocket: Jordan

Affordable cloud point-of-sale platform for small business owners.

Seso: South Africa

Blockchain technology to provide digital land registries and land transactions.

FarmDrive Kenya

Credit-scoring for smallholder farmers, based on a range of data including agricultural.

OptioAI: Georgia

Chatbot giving personal finance advice for millennials, improving spending decisions. Circle.

Money: Croatia

Multilateral compensations platform settling claims of SMEs.

Kredico: Turkey

Individual and business credit scoring using multiple data sources.

PayMob: Egypt

Financial infrastructure and mobile money solutions for merchants and consumers.

KiraPlus: Turkey

Payments platform facilitating property rent management.