Twelve new businesses will be selected to compete for $100,000 in funding; companies are developing alternative financial services technologies for underserved individuals
Today Village Capital and eBay Foundation opened their Bay Area/Salt Lake City-based program supporting entrepreneurs bringing financial services to low-income individuals. At the end of the program, two companies will win $100,000 total in funding.
According to a 2013 FDIC study, more than a quarter of U.S. households are unbanked or underbanked, meaning that they have limited or no access to traditional financial services. In other words, these individuals cannot afford the services that allow them to save their earnings and borrow at reasonable credit rates. This is a crucial issue for historically underserved communities, where a car accident, hospitalization, or a disability can cause severe economic distress.
Entrepreneurs can help address these challenges by developing more affordable and accessible financial technologies. During three intensive workshops over three months, Village Capital’s award-winning curriculum will provide 12 companies (see list below) with critical business development training, mentorship from local business leaders and investors, and face-to-face interaction with potential customers. After completing the program, an outstanding 94% of Village Capital’s portfolio companies are still in business, compared to an estimated 10% failure rate of other startups. The program is additionally supported by Fenway Summer Ventures, Access Ventures, Financial Solutions Lab, Core Innovational Capital, Experian, the Sorenson Global Impact Investing Center, and the Kapor Center for Social Impact.
“We believe in the power of technology to provide new solutions that help the underbanked achieve the full benefits of financial inclusion,” said Amy Millington, President of eBay Foundation. “Village Capital has been an outstanding partner in our effort to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the US, and we’re excited to embark on a second FinTech accelerator program with them.”
Ross Baird, Executive Director of Village Capital, added: "We're proud to be working with entrepreneurs who are making financial services more affordable and accessible for folks everywhere, " said Ross Baird, Executive Director of Village Capital. "By partnering with eBay Foundation for the second year running, we are not only making the bestFinTech entrepreneurs in the US investment-ready, but we are also multiplying our impact to boost the US and global economies."
The selected companies participating in this program are:
- Crediyo – A patient centric revenue cycle management company that brings a consumer finance approach to healthcare payments.
- FinVoice – Matches small businesses with investors, creating a new way for businesses to raise cash – faster and cheaper than banks.
- Indivisible – Provides working capital financing to small, underbanked businesses that primarily sell their products and services via local or online channels.
- Lendable – Provides risk analytics for debt in East Africa.
- Livewire – Provides cloud-based practice management tools and a marketplace platform to acquire new customers for financial professionals.
- PayJoy – Turns upfront purchases into pay-as-you-go monthly installments.
- PYT Funds – An online financial services company that combines the art of crowdfunding and traditional bank funding to provide a socially responsible and transparent private student loan.
- Quotanda – Sells turnkey student loan solutions for schools and banks globally.
- RemitRight – Compares fees and exchange rates from dozens of companies to help users save money when sending money.
- Student Loan Benefits – A modern benefit that lets companies help their employees address their student debt.
- Sweep – A mobile savings application that helps consumers plan for the future, manage cash flow, and build savings.
- Waleteros – A mobile wallet solution serving the 20M+ unbanked and underbanked US-based Latino consumers.
Main program dates:Workshop 1: May 14-17 in San Francisco, CAWorkshop 2: June 10-13 in Salt Lake City, UTWorkshop 3: July 21-24 in San Francisco, CA (Venture Forum July 23)
To learn more, please visit www.vilcap.com or contact Brittney Riley at Brittney@vilcap.com.