Call for Applications: Mercy Corps Ventures AI for Financial Resilience Initiative 2025 ($50,000 Equity-Free Grants for Startups)
Applications are now open for the Mercy Corps Ventures (MCV) AI for Financial Resilience Initiative 2025, which seeks to support startups using AI, blockchain, and emerging technologies to close financial service gaps for unbanked, underbanked, and climate-vulnerable populations across emerging markets.
The initiative focuses on piloting and scaling solutions such as AI-driven insurance, parametric credit, savings via bond tokenization, and anticipatory cash transfers and remittances, all designed to strengthen financial access, economic resilience, and trust in digital finance.
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Why It Matters
- Promotes inclusive finance through innovation and technology.
- Helps startups build sustainable financial tools for MSMEs and low-income groups.
- Supports women, immigrants, and climate-vulnerable populations with access to modern financial systems.
- Encourages the use of AI and blockchain to drive financial resilience and literacy.
Who Can Apply
The program invites startups building innovative AI-powered financial products that benefit unbanked and underbanked populations in emerging markets, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
Applicants should be working on solutions that:
- Use AI or blockchain to improve financial inclusion.
- Provide tools or products that enhance access to insurance, savings, credit, emergency payments, or financial literacy.
- Serve low-income individuals, women, immigrants, and MSMEs.
Program Details
The AI for Financial Resilience Initiative supports startups that are developing:
- AI-driven financial literacy programs for education and training.
- Blockchain-enabled digital financial tools for inclusive access to insurance and savings.
- AI-based systems for parametric credit, predictive finance, or disaster-responsive cash transfers.
Benefits for Selected Startups
- Equity-free grants of up to $50,000 per startup (based on milestones).
- Mentorship and advisory support focused on impact measurement and growth.
- Access to global partnerships, collaboration networks, and visibility opportunities.
- Knowledge exchange and capacity-building from MCV’s expert ecosystem.
- Brand exposure through Mercy Corps Ventures’ international platforms.
Primary Beneficiaries
- Unbanked and underbanked populations
- Low-income individuals and communities
- Women and immigrants
- Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs)