NOW OPEN: Visa Everywhere Initiative Global Innovation Program 2021 for Innovative Startups ($100,000 in Prizes)

February 24, 2021 BusinessTrumpet

Visa Everywhere Initiative is an open innovation program that helps startups like yours unlock new opportunities—and gives you a global platform to demonstrate your ground-breaking solutions. The program first launched in the U.S. in 2015, and has since expanded to every corner of the world, recruiting startups from over 100 countries. Over the past five years, more than 7,000 startups have participated, and they’ve collectively raised more than $2.5 billion in funding.

The first step towards getting your startup worldwide attention is to join the Visa Everywhere Initiative network—the same network of startups that our product teams from all over the world access when searching for solutions. Apply now through the global application. That way, we can notify you about upcoming opportunities and invite you to participate in Visa Everywhere Initiative competitions in your region.

This year, we are running a global startup competition and are looking for the brightest startups from around the world. One winner per region will be selected to compete in the global finals. If you’re a startup with great products already in market and gaining traction—and are looking for an extra push from a global, trusted brand like Visa to gain scale—this competition is perfect for you.

Requirements

We are looking for products that deliver innovative payment and commerce solutions to consumers and businesses. These include but are not limited to:

Enablers of digital services and digital issuers

Blockchain and cryptocurrency
Crowdfunding
Banking as a service
BIN sponsors
Issuer / processors
Program managers

Digital issuance

Blockchain and cryptocurrency
Alternative lending
Personal financial management
Money transfer and remittance
Digital banking (aka neobanks)
Digital wallets, P2P, and transfers
Employee benefits
Payables
Corporate cards (aka expense management)

Value-add for merchants and/or consumers in regard to finance

Data and analytics
ID, authentication, and security
Insurtech
Loyalty
Merchant services and tools
Process and pay infrastructure
Retail technology

Small/medium-sized business recovery

Money movement (disbursements, intra-account, P2P, payments)
Acceptance (e-commerce, mobile acceptance)
Risk management (chargebacks, etc.)
Brand management (community building, etc.)

Prizes

Four monetary prizes will be awarded during the global finals event:

Overall Winner: $50,000 USD
Audience Favorite: $25,000 USD
2nd Place: $15,000 USD
3rd Place: $10,000 USD

The overall winner, 2^nd place-winner, and 3^rd place-winner are also eligible to win the Audience Favorite prize.

Benefits

Validation

Your organization receives recognition from one of the world’s most valuable brands.

Exposure

The regional and global finals will be live-streamed on TechCrunch, giving finalists global exposure.

Monetary prize

Winners at the global finals receive a monetary prize (no equity taken) that you can invest in your company as you see fit.

How to Apply

Apply now
Visa will select the top 5 finalists for the 5 regions listed below. Next, each region will select a winner that will move forward to the global finals event.
- North America (This region has one of its five spots reserved for a minority-founded startup.)
- CEMEA (This region has one of its five spots reserved for an Ethiopian startup. It will be awarding additional monetary prizes—including $15k for the overall regional winner and $10k for the audience favorite.)
- Europe
- Asia Pacific
- Latin America (This region will award $5k to their winner.)

Timeline:

Latin America:

Applications close: April 2nd
Finals event: on June 23rd (live-streamed on TechCrunch)

CEMEA:

Ethiopia:
- Applications close: April 9th
- Finals event: May 10th
Rest of CEMEA:
- Applications close: May 7th
- Finals event: June 8th (live-streamed on TechCrunch)

North America Finals: