MetLife offers grant of €50,000 for innovative idea

The philanthropic arm of insurance giant MetLife is offering €50,000 in grant funding for an innovative idea that helps promote financial inclusion.

The winning entry could be anything from an app or to an educational programme but must demonstrate that it will improve people’s access, adoption and usage of financial products and services.

The Inclusion Plus competition is being run in collaboration with social enterprise group Verb and is being piloted in Ireland before being rolled out abroad.

The competition is aimed at entrepreneurs, not-for-profits and existing companies that help advance financial inclusion.

Mentors

Up to 50 MetLife Ireland staff will screen the first round of entries and then serve as mentors for those selected to progress. A shortlist of finalists will eventually vie for the top prize in a

Dragons’ Den

format with the winner receiving €25,000. The runners-up and semi-finalists will receive smaller grants.

The deadline for entries is April 29th. Participants register a venture profile and complete the online entry application at www.ireland.inclusionplus.com/ Examples of possible entries include, but are not limited to, household budgeting and money management tools, innovations in lending, savings and insurance, and new programmes aimed at financial technology innovations.