Contextualized support for Inclusive fintech, skilling and livelihood generating innovations
Bharat Inclusion Initiative (BII) is an effort towards bringing the benefits of technological progress to underserved populations in India. Led by IIMA Ventures , BII is currently supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Read about the previous edition here.
The Initiative focuses on backing startups that work in the areas of financial inclusion, jobs & livelihood and skilling. All startups supported by the Initiative use technology as leverage to increase reach and build products that serve the underserved. For ambitious entrepreneurs working on problems of the Bharat market, the Bharat Inclusion Initiative provides domain knowledge, training, financial support, mentorship and market access that the founders need to build and scale inclusive, for-profit businesses.
INTERVENTIONS
Pursuing foundational questions that inform and enable entrepreneurial interventions for Bharat.
ACCELERATE
De-risking entrepreneurial journeys through training, mentoring, market access and grant capital.
ENTREPRENEURS
Sharing insights, sparking conversations and inspiring entrepreneurs to build for Bharat.
INVEST
Fueling ventures harnessing technology to solve hard inclusion problems at scale.
INTERVENTIONS
Pursuing foundational questions that inform and enable entrepreneurial interventions for Bharat.
ACCELERATE
De-risking entrepreneurial journeys through training, mentoring, market access and grant capital.
ENTREPRENEURS
Sharing insights, sparking conversations and inspiring entrepreneurs to build for Bharat.
INVEST
Fueling ventures harnessing technology to solve hard inclusion problems at scale.
Bharat Inclusion Sprint is an assemblage of short deep dives into topics of interest for Bharat Entrepreneurs. It includes sessions or workshops by India Stack experts, financial inclusion practitioners, researchers and startup founders who share their insights, learnings and best practices.
Sprints are designed for engaging discussions. With the focus firmly on insights sharing (and not marketing), startup teams, investors and others receive valuable takeaways that help them in their journeys. They are also a great way for founders to know about IIMA Ventures and our offerings for startups.
We are seeking scalable innovations with potential to serve the needs of India’s lower income segments such as nano-entrepreneurs, low-income and gig workers, women and migrants. Our focus areas are:
USD 50,000 and more for every startup supported
Insights on Customers, Regulations and Industry from those who know them best
Partnerships for Product Development, Pilots and Scale up
Showcase at our Corporate meetups, Demo days and Partner events
Handholding from Pitching-to-Deal closure
Exclusive offers and services from essential service partners
The program is designed to support startups building technology solutions in Fintech, Skilling and Livelihood domains with potential to serve the lower income segments of India. Solutions in the prototype, MVP and early traction stages will be preferred. However, exceptional individuals starting off with promising ideas on financial inclusion are also welcome to connect with us to explore support.
The program is designed to largely provide bespoke support to each startup based on its needs.
The empanelled impact measurement agency will engage with the startup at different intervals over the program duration (up to 2028).
You need not be a registered firm to apply. However, we require you to be an entity registered in India before we can confirm your selection and are able to support you.
Yes. We are open to considering your application. We request you to highlight the support you have received from the previous programs.
Once an application is received, we will review it for alignment with program objectives and evaluate based on criteria such as innovation, potential for impact, team strength etc. 2-3 rounds pitching and feedback sessions can be expected. Applications are being evaluated on a rolling basis. Please expect an update within one month of applying for the program.
No. The program does not specifically require the startups to be based out of Ahmedabad during the program. We may organize short duration bootcamps/events at Ahmedabad and/or other places. You will be required to participate in the program.
A Service Agreement will be signed between IIMA Ventures and the startup capturing the product, market opportunity, engagement objective, expected activities, budgets etc. Funds will be disbursed in tranches based on fund requirement and the milestones set. Startups may be required to provide a utilization certificate before receiving the next tranche/end of the program support period if so required for audit and reporting related purposes.
To ensure alignment of the founding team with the program offerings and recognising that early-stage ventures need comprehensive longer term support, the startup will be onboarded as an incubatee, for which a mentoring equity of 3-5% is expected.
The BII program has provisions to support promising startups with additional funding. We will endeavor to provide additional funding through grants, convertible debt etc. through our various other programs. Startups will also have the opportunity to pitch to investors during our investor showcases. We will also facilitate introductions to investors on a case to case basis. However, selection to the program does not guarantee additional funding from us or any other investors.
The program works best when the support provided and the startup’s needs are well aligned. We strongly prefer working with founders who are engaged with the program and its objectives, i.e. participate in program activities, share their challenges, be receptive to inputs and work collaboratively. The startups will be required to participate in the program’s impact measurement study.
Please refer to the page of the previous edition of BII here
If you would like to partner with the program or collaborate with any of the startups, please write to us at programs@iimaventures.com