Visa Everywhere Initiative Global Innovation Program 2022 for Innovative Startups Worldwide ($500,000 USD in Prizes)
Application Deadline: April 4, 2022
Get global exposure for your startup or fintech. This year is set to be our biggest ever—with multiple competitions, over $500k in total prizes, and the chance to compete in the global finals in Qatar in November.
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 quickly expanded into a global program. To date, nearly 8,500 startups have participated, and have collectively raised more than $16 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.
Related: AMREF Graduate Internship Program 2022 for young African graduates
Selection
Visa will select the top 5 regional finalists in each region listed below. Next, each region will select a winner that will move forward to the global finals event.
- North America
- Europe
- Asia Pacific
- Latin America
- CEMEA [Central Europe, Middle East, Africa] – For this region’s five finalists, one spot is reserved for an Egyptian startup and one spot is reserved for a Saudi Arabian startup.
Enablers of digital services and digital issuers
- Blockchain and cryptocurrency
- Crowdfundin
- Banking as a service
- BIN sponsorsIssuer / 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
- Money movement (disbursements, intra-account, P2P vendor, payments)
- Acceptance (e-commerce, mobile acceptance)
- Risk management (chargebacks, etc.)
- Brand management (community building, etc.)
Prize
Five monetary prizes will be awarded during the global finals event:
- Overall Winner: $100,000 USD
- Audience Favorite: $20,000 USD
- Visa Direct: $20,000 USD
- 2nd Place: $20,000 USD
- 3rd Place: $10,000 USD
The overall winner, 2nd place-winner, and 3rd place-winner are all eligible to win the Audience Favorite prize.
Prior to the global finals, the following local and regional prizes will also be awarded:
Egypt:
- Overall winner: EGP 500K (estimated value in USD: $32,000)
- 2nd place: EGP 350K (estimated value in USD: $22,000)
- 3rd place: EGP 250K (estimated value in USD: $16,000
Saudi Arabia:
- Overall winner: SAR 200K (estimated value in USD: $54,000)
- 2nd place: SAR 150K (estimated value in USD: $40,000)
- 3rd place: SAR 100K (estimated value in USD: $27,000)
- Audience Favorite winner: SAR 50K (estimated value in USD: $13,000)
North America
- Overall winner: $10,000 USD
- Audience Favorite winner: $10,000 USD
- Visa Direct winner: $10,000 USD
CEMEA:
- Overall winner: $25,000
- Audience Favorite winner: $10,000
- Visa Direct winner: $10,000
LAC: $30,000 USD
- Overall winner: $10,000 USD
- Audience Favorite winner: $10,000 USD
- Visa Direct winner: $10,000 USD
Timeline:
Local Edition Deadlines:
Egypt: March 20, 2022
Saudi Arabia: April 21, 2022
Regional Competition Deadlines:
Latin America and the Caribbean: March 18, 2022
North America: March 31, 2022
Central Europe, the Middle East, and Africa: April 4, 2022
Asia Pacific: June 14, 2022
Europe: June 14, 2022
Special Edition Deadlines:
Women: : March 8, 2022
LGBTQ+: June 5, 2022
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the Visa Everywhere Initiative Global Innovation Program 2022