Applications are now open for the Qatar and Kuwait edition of the 2024 Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI), a global open innovation program and competition that sees fintech startups pitch their solutions to solve tomorrow’s payment and commerce challenges.
In addition to equity-free funding, VEI winners gain access and exposure to Visa’s vast networks of partners in the banking, merchant, venture capital, and government sectors. The winners also benefit from receiving recognition from one of the world’s most trusted and valuable brands.
With applications open until April 29 , this year’s Qatar and Kuwait edition of VEI will see an in-person competition for finalists from both countries on June 13th in Doha. The winner will progress to a virtual Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) competition on July 17. The startup that wins at the CEMEA finale will participate in the global finale – competing against winners from Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and North America – at the TechCrunch Disrupt event in San Francisco on October 29th, 2024.
For fintech participants in Qatar, this year’s edition of VEI includes the Impact Prize, which goes to a competitor who has innovated a solution that has a positive social impact on the communities it operates in. Examples include initiatives that boost financial inclusion, promote sustainability, or safeguard the environment.
“The Visa Everywhere Initiative is a powerful platform that empowers and uplifts fintechs and entrepreneurs to showcase the most ground-breaking, impactful solutions solving tomorrow’s challenges in the world of payments and commerce. We are delighted to bring it VEI for the first time ever to Qatar and Kuwait,” said Shashank Singh, Visa’s Vice President and General Manager for Kuwait and Qatar .
“Fintechs have the potential to offer broad social benefits to the markets they operate in – particularly when it comes to providing financial services to those who have traditionally been underserved. At Visa, we believe access to the digital economy drives equitable, inclusive growth, and VEI is an important means of supporting the growth journey of fintechs in Qatar and Kuwait – helping them take small but significant steps towards making an impact.”
The program first launched in the US in 2015 and quickly expanded into a global program. To date, nearly 15,000 startups have participated, and have collectively raised over QR175B ($48 billion USD) in funding. VEI 2023 saw Nigeria’s Drugstock take home the VEI global grand prize of QR182,000 ($50,000 USD), as well as the Audience Favorite prize of QR36,400 ($10,000 USD).
What we are looking for
We are looking for products that deliver innovative payment and commerce solutions to consumers and businesses prioritizing fintech startups with the following technologies:
Emerging spaces
Money Movers
Enablers (Commerce and Banking)
Neo Banks and Brokerages
Lending
Social, Creator, and Gaming
Other categories for 2024
Prizes
Monetary prizes will be awarded at the regional and global competitions:
The application deadline for VEI Qatar and Kuwait is April 29. For more information about VEI, please visit https://qa.visamiddleeast.com/en_QA/visa-everywhere/everywhere-initiative/initiative.html .