Bharat Inclusion Initiative

Contextualized support for Inclusive fintech, skilling and livelihood generating innovations

Bharat Inclusion Initiative

Contextualized support for Inclusive fintech, skilling and livelihood generating innovations

About The Program

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.

the BII continuum

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.

the BII continuum

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 Sprints

ABOUT

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.

WHY JOIN IN

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.

Startup Support

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:

Focus Areas

  • Credit for Income Enhancement – Digital delivery and Underwriting, Credit Guarantee and Blended Finance solutions
  • Building Financial Resilience – Insurance enablers, Savings and Money Management solutions
  • Expanding reach and uptake – Rural-focused payments and grievance management solutions that help increase usage and trust in fintech
  • Digital Public Infrastructure – Building blocks of ONDC, Account Aggregator, OCEN, Unified Lending Interface and other platforms

  • Integrated skilling, placement and engagement platforms, ideally with industry focus
  • Platforms offering gig jobs and livelihoods in smaller cities
  • Digital Public Infrastructure – Solutions leveraging and enabling ONDC, ONEST, Urban and Rural Livelihood missions

What We Offer

Financial Support

USD 50,000 and more for every startup supported

Access to Experts

Insights on Customers, Regulations and Industry from those who know them best

Market Access

Partnerships for Product Development, Pilots and Scale up

Showcase and Visibility

Showcase at our Corporate meetups, Demo days and Partner events

Fund-Raising Support

Handholding from Pitching-to-Deal closure

Cloud Credits and more

Exclusive offers and services from essential service partners

Our offerings are designed to support startups from idea to post-MVP stages in building scalable and sustainable inclusive businesses. Hence, at least a part of the customers/beneficiaries being served must be from lower-income segments (typically earning less than INR 50,000 per month).

Supported by

Get in Touch

If you would like to partner with the program or collaborate with any of the startups, please write to us at programs@iimaventures.com