The shortlist for this year’s BBVA Open Talent contest has been revealed, while startup Musoni and its microfinance solution has already been named the winner of the competition’s special Financial Inclusion Award. The FinTech firm was selected by a jury of experts from BBVA, the Institute of International Finance (IIF), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Musoni has developed a system that leverages technology to help financial institutions optimise their microfinance services, improve cost-effectiveness, and help them manage the accounts, loans and savings of underbanked customers. The solution includes its own accounting suite and boasts 275,000 customers in 12 different countries.

As the winner of the Open Talent award, Musoni will travel with BBVA’s financial inclusion team to meet the company’s partners, as well as receive an invite to the IIF annual membership meeting in Washington in October.

BBVA has also announced the 56 FinTech startups that will be participating in the Open Talent finals in September. The chosen firms originate from 17 different countries, including Azerbaijan, Japan, Latvia, Singapore and Turkey, as well as the US and the UK.

The competition will be split into three categories based on the companies’ origins – Europe, Latin America and the US, and rest of the world. Each region will select two winners to receive a €30,000 cash prize to help develop their project with BBVA and be invited to participate in an immersion and interaction programme with experts in Mexico and Madrid.

Share Story: