Applications are now open in Georgia for the 2024 edition of the Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI), a global open innovation program and competition that sees fintech startups pitch their solutions to solve tomorrow’s payment and commerce challenges.
In addition to equity-free funding, VEI winners gain access and exposure to Visa’s vast networks of partners in the banking, merchant, venture capital, and government sectors. The winners also benefit from receiving recognition from one of the world’s most trusted and valuable brands.
Applications for participation in the competition are accepted from March 25 to May 6. The selected participants will take part in a virtual Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) competition on July 17. The startup that wins at the CEMEA finale will participate in the global finale – competing against winners from Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and North America – at the TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco on October 29th, 2024.
“The Visa Everywhere Initiative is a powerful platform that empowers and uplifts fintechs and entrepreneurs to showcase the most ground-breaking, impactful solutions solving tomorrow’s challenges in the world of payments and commerce,” said Diana Kiguradze, Visa Regional Manager for the Caucasus region. “Fintechs have the potential to offer broad social benefits to the markets they operate in – particularly when it comes to providing financial services to those who have traditionally been underserved. At Visa, we believe access to the digital economy drives equitable, inclusive growth, and VEI is an important means of supporting the growth journey of fintechs – helping them take small but significant steps towards making an impact.”
The program first launched in the US in 2015 and quickly expanded into a global program. To date, nearly 15,000 startups have participated, and have collectively raised over $48 billion in funding. VEI 2023 saw Nigeria’s Drugstock take home the VEI global grand prize of $50,000, as well as the Audience Favorite prize of $10,000.
Visa is looking for products that deliver innovative payment and commerce solutions to consumers and businesses prioritizing fintech startups with the following technologies:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Big Data/Open Banking
- Cloud Computing
- Digital identity and Biometrics
- Cybersecurity and Privacy
- Fraud and Risk
- Alternative Finance
- Alternative Lending
- Loyalty of the Future
Money Movers
- Remittance
- P2P and Transfers
- Cross Border Payments
- B2C (Disbursements)
- B2B Payments Orchestration
Enablers (Commerce and Banking)
- Online Marketplaces and Ecommerce
- Embedded Finance
- Core Banking and Bank Enablers
- Fintech Aggregators
- Digital Acceptance
- BaaS
Neo Banks and Brokerages
- Neo Banks/Digital Banks
- MNOs
- Digital Brokerages
- Digital Wallets
Lending
- Commercial Lending
- BNPL
- Consumer Lending
- Capital Providers
Social, Creator, and Gaming
- Creator Platforms and Services
- NFT Marketplaces
- Collectables
- Gaming Wallets and Tokenization
- In Game payments and transactions
- Gig Economy Enabler
Other categories for 2024
- Sustainable fintechs
- Risk
Prizes
Monetary prizes will be awarded at the regional and global competitions:
- VEI CEMEA Regionals 1st place: $20,000 USD.
- VEI CEMEA Regionals Audience Favorites: $10,000 USD.
The application deadline for VEI in CEMEA region is May 6. For more information about VEI, please visit
https://usa.visa.com/visa-everywhere/everywhere-initiative/initiative.html
