Catalyst FINposium 5
Event: Workshop on Innovation Partnerships with Fintech Players
Date: November 18th, 2016
Location: Bengaluru
Attendance: 30 participants representing 26 organizations
OBJECTIVES
- Introduce Catalyst’s plan & team to the core partner base,
- Validate interest in developing solutions that focus on bottom 80 percent segments aligned with Catalyst’s strategy and plan; and
- Engage Bengaluru-based stakeholders, including MFIs, fintech and retail-tech companies, VCs and smartphone OEMs, on ecosystem-based innovation partnerships for roll out in Catalyst’s Digital Payment Labs.
KEY OUTCOMES
Approach Validation:
A lively panel discussion on “Fintech for the Bottom 80%” elicited endorsement for the market attractiveness of the long tail merchant using context appropriate digital technology. Participants also exemplified how three providers with complementary digital solutions could join forces to offer high impact propositions – consumer payment acceptance, a smart salary and spending account, and instant credit.
Innovation Partnerships:
The breakout session solicited innovation ideas. There was tremendous enthusiasm in the fintech community with many ideas and proposals offered to address specific needs of currently unserved segments. These included technologies that facilitate offline and voice-based payments, capacity building for GST as an inducer for payments, biometrics-supported smartphones, and models to enhance retailers into banking touchpoints. Potential partnerships discussed included: a one-stop shop merchant focused platform to accept consumer payments, pay out suppliers, manage customer relationships, and various taxes; digitization of loan disbursement and repayment with integrated financial services such as small mutual fund investments; and an integrated money management application for the poor mapping all inflows and outflows (groceries, healthcare, transit, utilities, etc.).
RESOURCES
- Agenda
- Presentation: Introduction to Catalyst, Approach and Way Forward, by Badal Malick (CEO, Catalyst)
- Concept Note 1 (Engaging Consumers to use Digital)
- Concept Note 2 (Powering Merchant Acceptance)
- Concept Note 3 (Digitizing Merchant Supply Chains)
- Concept Note 4 (Funding Digital Source Accounts)
Catalyst was an initiative funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the mSTAR Program to increase adoption of digital payments in India, using a targeted ecosystem approach from May 2016 to January 2019. Our vision is to realize an inclusive digital economy that meets the needs of all Indians. As of February 2019, the program is an independent project housed at IFMR LEAD, at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR).
