Call for Proposals: AI for Financial Resilience
Problem
1.4 billion people remain unbanked, mainly in developing countries, and predominantly women. This financial inclusion gap is driven by a variety of factors including:
Access & Usage Gaps: Limited access and usage gaps for financial services for rural, low-income populations, women and other underserved user segments
ID, User Data, & Credit History : Lack of user data, formal identification, and credit history inhibits lending to unbanked individuals
Affordability & Sustainability: High costs of service delivery in marginalized communities
Trust & Digital Literacy: Skepticism toward digital solutions and low tech literacy
Climate Vulnerability: Economic instability due to climate shocks disproportionately impacts the poor, and threatens to push 68 and 135 million additional people in emerging markets into extreme poverty by 2030 as a direct result of climate change impacts including loss of livelihoods, exposure to heatwaves, droughts and flooding.
Emerging technologies like AI are rapidly reshaping the landscape for digital consumer products. When deployed responsibly, these tools can significantly expand access and improve the wellbeing of the 1.4 billion unbanked people around the world by building inclusive and user-friendly financial services.
By reimagining technology to build systems that say yes to those long excluded, AI expands who gets to be a part of the future. As our pilot partner Mercedes Bidart at Quipu elegantly explained at TED AI Vienna, “because when you say yes to people who have always been told no, you unlock dignity, growth, and opportunity.”
MCV’s AI for Financial Resilience initiative leverages AI, blockchain, and emerging technologies to close financial service gaps for unbanked, underbanked, and climate-vulnerable populations in emerging markets, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia. The initiative pilots and scales solutions such as AI-driven insurance, parametric credit, savings via bond tokenization, and anticipatory cash transfers and remittances, aiming to improve financial access, economic resilience, and trust in digital finance.
Expand financial inclusion and resilience through innovation: Leverage AI, blockchain, and other emerging tech to create accessible, affordable financial services (insurance, credit, savings, remittances) for unbanked and low-income individuals.
Bridge climate resilience and financial access: Pilot and scale solutions that enable vulnerable communities to withstand—and thrive despite—climate shocks via improved protection mechanisms.
Build robust evidence and share sector learnings: Produce insights and best practices to inform future investments and replicate effective models across markets.
We are looking for innovative financial products for unbanked and underbanked people in emerging markets. This can range from using AI to drive financial literacy through education and training to increasing access to insurance, savings, credit, and emergency payments using AI- and blockchain-powered digital financial products.
Primary beneficiaries: Unbanked and underbanked populations, with a strong emphasis on low-income individuals, women, immigrants, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Geographic focus: Emerging markets, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Impact first
a) How will this proposal build financial resilience for unbanked people in emerging markets? Who will be reached, how many people, and to what depth of impact?
Innovation edge
a) How ‘first-of-a-kind’ is this solution? What signal would this send to the wider ecosystem?
Sustainability
a) What is the business model? How will this product sustainably scale to build financial resilience for millions of unbanked people?
Likelihood of success
a) What’s the technological readiness level? Does the partner have a captive user base? What’s the likelihood of seeing results within the pilot timeframe?
If you’re building at the intersection of AI for Financial Resilience in Emerging Markets for Unbanked people, we encourage you to apply. More application details can be found here:
Application period: November 4 - December 1, 2025
Info Session
We will also be hosting a webinar where you can learn more about this program.
Date: Tuesday, November 18
Time: 9:00 AM ET / 8:00 AM Colombia / 3:00 PM EAT