The third cohort of the Financial Inclusion Lab saw nine startups innovating for the low and middle-income segments

▤ Summary

These startups are working on credit, savings, insurance and related technology-driven financial solutions that benefit underserved segments such as low-income workers, micro businesses, auto drivers, farmers and agri-businesses.Blue-collar workers are considered a high-risk segment for financial institutions due to their contractual employment, non-uniform cash flows, and expensive underwriting of small ticket loans. Through an app that leverages the Joint Liability Group lending model, Adhikosh allows underserved borrower segments to apply for lower-interest rate loans in groups with friends, family or co-workers, thus leveraging social relationships for sourcing, underwriting and collections.Aggois provides hassle-free, affordable and transparent financing to farmers against post-harvest receivables by partnering with financial institutions (Banks/NBFCs). Currently focused on minimum support price (MSP) receivable financing, it helps small and marginal farmers mitigate cash crunch arising from MSP payment delays because of procedural and bureaucratic reasons.Financial institutions face credit and fraud risks and miss opportunities for cross-selling and retaining customers as communication relies heavily on field staff. Awaaz Des SaaS platform gives financial institutions a 360\xb0 customer connect, using automated, interactive voice tech in 11 vernacular languages that enables transaction-level customisation and storified communication. Using innovative Blockchain and IoT solutions, Whrrls digital lending platform decreases underwriting risks for the lenders, improves process efficiency, and makes loans available to farmers on a tap in five minutes vs. the previous five-day wait.Financial institutions have traditionally struggled to engage with Agri Businesses owing to low visibility on utilisation and high risk of recovery.

$ Funding

▦ Linked Companies

Awaaz.De

$1M to $5M