Karandaaz, a premier player for promoting financial inclusion and innovation in fintech space in Pakistan, is holding the 3rd round of its Fintech Disrupt Challenge (FDC) 2018.

The Karandaaz FDC 2018 aims to harness the most innovative ideas from the financial technology space and transform them into scalable solutions.

Last year winner, CreditFix, won the competition with their Digital Lending Platform with a grant of $100,000 while the three runner ups, Agri-Gate, UniKrew Solution, and Invoice Wakalah, received USD $20,000 each.

Focus Areas of the Challenge

Startups being the prime targets of this challenge, the FDC 2018 aims to support startups working in the FinTech space in developing innovative financial solutions using technology to promote greater financial inclusion in Pakistan. The challenge will focus on the following focus groups,

1. Payments
2. Interoperability
3. Consumer/ Retail Banking
4. Regtech
5. Insurtech
6. Mobile Wallets
7. Loyalty Programs
8. Lending
9. Savings

Event Timeline

1. 15th May: Application Deadline
   All participants must apply by this date. Link here, https://gust.com/programs/karandaaz-fintech-disrupt-challenge-2018
2. 15th May – 15th Jun: Application Shortlisting for Accelerator Program
   The applications will be evaluated by the experts group who will identify the applications that adhere to the following criteria,
   • Scalability & innovativeness of the product or solution that increases financial inclusion
   • Team cohesion and competence
   • Market Opportunity
   • Viability of Business Model
   • Scale of Social Impact
   • Availability of the start-up for the acceleration program
   • The right of final selection into the acceleration cohort lies with Karandaaz and the Accelerator
   • Shortlisted applicants will be called for further evaluations by the respective accelerator partner to run its own process for final admission to its acceleration program
3. From Jun- Oct/Nov: Accelerator Program
   Karandaaz Pakistan has partnered with two FinTech Accelerators that will run a targeted acceleration program with the shortlisted start-ups.
4. Nov/Dec: Final Pitch Day
   Two types of participants are eligible in the final pitch day,
   1. The selected startups from accelerator program
   2. Direct entry participants. 
      To be eligible for direct entry, following criteria must be fulfilled,
      • A demo of working product
      • Scalability & innovativeness of the product or solution that increases financial inclusion
      • Team cohesion and competence
      • Market Opportunity
      • Viability of Business Model
      • Scale of Social Impact
      • The right of initial shortlisting and final selection for the direct entry into the challenge day is with Karandaaz

Reward

Up to 3 winners on the challenge day will be given returnable grants of up to $100,000

Important Links

Registration: https://gust.com/programs/karandaaz-fintech-disrupt-challenge-2018
Home page FDC 2018: https://fdc.karandaaz.com.pk
Terms and Conditions (PDF): https://fdc.karandaaz.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Term-Sheet_FDC%202018_Final.pdf

For more details, get in touch with Karandaaz here, fintech@karandaaz.com.pk