PEARS CHALLENGE: VALIDATE
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
Pears Challenge: Validate is a prestigious program for early-stage fintech ventures targeting emerging markets. Test your start-up idea in the market destination and gain access to invaluable business insights, startup grants, mentorship, and travel to Africa - all equity free!
Fast track your Validation process
Sub-Saharan Africa’s booming fintech sector is waiting for you! BCG reports that Africa leads the world in fintech growth and is projected to experience 13x growth over the next decade to reach $65B in revenue by 2030!
Join a distinguished cohort of fintech entrepreneurs passionate about creating lasting impact where it's needed the most. Develop your innovative startup and drive financial inclusion and economic opportunity for millions in East Africa.
As a Pears Challenge: Validate Participant, you get access to:
Startup grants
Mentorship from experts
Validation trip to East Africa
Network of local partners
Feedback for fast iteration from the field
Acceleration and fundraising opportunities
About the Program
PEARS CHALLENGE: VALIDATE
Building Scalable, Financially Viable Digital Solutions to Drive Financial Inclusion in East Africa
East Africa is experiencing a major revolution in digital finance. Dubbed the “Silicon Savanna”, the financial services sector is in the midst of a rapid transformation, giving millions of previously excluded people access to savings, credit, and opportunities for personal and economic mobility.
Historically, financial services in Africa have been inaccessible to most people due to high fees, a lack of physical infrastructure and geographical constraints. In recent years, the COVID pandemic has sped up digital adoption and accelerated the already growing trend of mobile penetration. These exciting developments have laid the groundwork for a revolution in digital finance.
According to the World Bank Group, financial inclusion is key to reducing extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. African governments as well as private sector players are focused on expediting access to financial infrastructure to allow millions of people to participate in the formal economy.
Pears Challenge: Validate is your gateway to this emerging landscape of opportunity and a chance to validate your venture in a market with a strong appetite for innovation and new technologies. It is also an opportunity to have a large scale and transformational change on the lives of millions of underbanked people.
This is your chance to:
Disrupt East Africa’s digital finance industry
Bring Israel’s cutting edge tech and creativity to improve economic opportunity for millions of underbanked people
Collaborate with local partners & innovators
Learn from mentors and local experts, and collaborate with inspiring peers to develop your disruptive technology
Gain invaluable market insights
Get a competitive advantage with insight into digital finance trends in Kenya and Tanzania and partnership opportunities
Travel to East Africa for market validation
Access an invaluable opportunity to validate your assumptions and test product-market fit in East Africa
East Africa: Break Into the New Frontier in Digital Finance
Here’s what makes Kenya and Tanzania ideal markets for your new fintech venture:
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Pears Challenge Alumni
The last five cohorts of the Pears Challenge have created over a dozen new companies and raised over $21.4M in grants, seed financing and contracts and piloted technologies in markets across five continents, affecting the lives of individuals and communities in Angola, Nigeria, South Africa Tanzania, Zimbabwe Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, Ghana, Israel, India, Taiwan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Japan, Brazil, Ecuador, USA, Canada, Netherlands, Poland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Lithuania and Romania.
JOIN THE RANKS OF THESE INNOVATIVE STARTUPS
Israeli Companies Revolutionizing FinTech
Frequently Asked Questions
Applications for Pears Challenge: Validate are now closed...
We'd still love to hear from you! Get in touch with us if you are interested in joining one of our future programs.
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