The Swanari TechSprint is a flagship program of the
Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India.

The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub’s (RBIH) Swanari TechSprint is a program which provides a platform to conceptualise, develop and support innovations in technology that enhance access, usage and quality of financial services for all women in India. Through this, RBIH aims to create an ecosystem of fintechs and tech providers who are bridging the gender divide in financial services responsibly and transparently.
The official implementing partner for the TechSprint is CIIE.CO, the country’s leading entrepreneurship centre and early stage technology investing platforms set up in IIM Ahmedabad.
Know more about Swanari here.
The TechSprint aims to provide all particiants with:

Platform
Unique opportunity to work on women-centric financial solutions.

Mentorship
Access to a pool of mentors and industry experts.

Exposure
Exposure to VC’s, Incubators and Impact Investors

Network
Winners will get access to Banks, POCs and Pilot Opportunities.
Problem Statement for the Swanari Techsprint 2023
End to End Digital Straight Through Process (STP) lending for micro to medium-sized women owned enterprises
Customer Segment Focus

a) Preferred segment: Informal women-owned businesses including but not limited to – street vendors, shopkeepers, traders, micro and small manufacturers or other micro-service providers
b) Customer persona: An Indian women-owned micro to medium-sized enterprise, a thin-file or no-file entrepreneur with minimal formal credit history, who has minimal or no collateral to offer and therefore opts for more expensive informal or semi-formal sources to finance her business
c) Geography: No restrictions
d) Credit requirements: In the range of Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 10,00,000 to operate and grow her business
a) Optimising loan originations, approvals and sanctions to ensure minimal manual touch points
b) Convenient, easy to use, Whatsapp/ voice-based, vernacular-friendly features to ease of applying for credit
c) Solutions that utilise alternative data based credit assessment and sanctions – eg. Mobile Data, TELCO Data, UPI transaction histories etc.
d) Solutions that utilise emerging data platforms and underwriting tools (for eg. profiling based on the GST number and history) to facilitate rule based credit
e) Solutions that enable women to offer alternate collateral
f) Solutions to enable faster Turn Around Times (TATs) with minimal manual intervention
Potential areas for innovation to enhance credit access to women:

a) Optimising loan originations, approvals and sanctions to ensure minimal manual touch points
b) Convenient, easy to use, Whatsapp/ voice-based, vernacular-friendly features to ease of applying for credit
c) Solutions that utilise alternative data based credit assessment and sanctions – eg. Mobile Data, TELCO Data, UPI transaction histories etc.
d) Solutions that utilise emerging data platforms and underwriting tools (for eg. profiling based on the GST number and history) to facilitate rule based credit
e) Solutions that enable women to offer alternate collateral
f) Solutions to enable faster Turn Around Times (TATs) with minimal manual intervention
Who can apply
The following profile of participants who have a solution for the proposed problem statement are encouraged to apply:

MVP, prototype or early revenue stage startups

Existing technology service providers or companies with solutions that can be adapted to the specific needs of women entrepreneurs
If you have an idea or a prototype of a technology-led solution that aims to enhance credit access for women-owned enterprises, this techsprint is for you!
If you have an idea or prototype for any other gender intentional problem statement – we still urge you to apply.
Solutions being developed could be targeted at varied segments of women including but not limited to: women-owned businesses including very small, micro and small entrepreneurs, self-help-groups, women street vendors, women farmers including dairy and poultry, young professionals and homemakers.
For any further queries, please contact swanaritechsprint@rbihub.in
How winners will be chosen

Phase One:
Filtration of applicants by overall relevance
For starters, participants should put forth a for-profit, gender-sensitive solution for the problem statement.
Phase Two:
Virtual Techsprint
Selected participants from Phase One will be given the opportunity to participate in domain specific workshops, panel discussions and 1:1 mentoring sessions with BFSI experts, RBIH and CIIE.CO teams to further refine their pitches and product roadmaps.
Phase Three:
Rigorous Jury Evaluation
A jury panel chosen by RBIH and CIIE.CO will select 3-5 startups based on criteria such as team commitment, product market fit, impact potential, innovation, use of technology, gender intentionality, openness to partnerships, and fairness/transparency of the solution.

Potential Benefits to the Techsprint 2023 Winners
(Top Three Startups)
Access to upcoming sprint/s at CIIE.CO
Fast Track Investment Committee (IC) for Pre-Seed Investments through CIIE.CO
Incubation support at CIIE.CO & follow-on seed funding assistance
Access to Masterclasses at CIIE.CO
Mentoring Hours with CIIE.CO & access to its expert network
Potential access to paid POC programs with Banks, with access to necessary Data and APIs
Potential Benefits for all Techsprint participants
Visibility on the RBIH Swanari Website
Visibility on RBIH and CIIE.CO’s Social Media handles and newsletters
Be a part of an exclusive community of startups building for women
Tentative Schedule
Date | Event |
11th Sept 2023 | Applications Close |
22nd Sept 2023 | Announcement of Shortlisted Applicants |
10th to 13th Oct 2023 | Virtual TechSprint |
20th Oct 2023 | Result Announcement |
Date | Time | C. Hackathon structure – Online |
Aug 23 |
9:30am-12:30pm 1:30pm-6:30pm |
Knowledge/Expert Sessions/Panels Mentoring Sesstions |
Aug 24 |
9:30am-12:30pm 1:30pm-6:30pm |
Knowledge/Expert Sessions/Panels Pitching Sesstions |
Aug 25 Final Jury |
10:00am-11:00am 11:00am-5:00pm |
Introduction to the jurists Jury (jurists to be identified by CIIE.CO & RBIH) |
Aug 28 | Internal meeting for result finalisation | |
Aug 29 | Result announcement |
Date | D. Hackathon Structure – Offline |
Sep 5-7 | Award Ceremony planned currently to be given at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai |
For more details on the
previous TechSprint
RBIH’s Swanari Program
About Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH)

The Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH) – a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – is an organisation that enables frictionless finance to a billion Indians. RBIH functions as a focal platform, bringing together members of financial, technologicsl and academic institutions, to promote and accelerate innovation across the financial sector. With a robust ecosystem that enables the exchange of ideas, research and development of prototypes, RBIH aims to not only strengthen the Indian financial system but also keep India at the forefront of global financial innovation.
About Official TechSprint Implementation Partner
CIIE.CO, IIM Ahmedabad
Built at IIM Ahmedabad, CIIE.CO is the country’s leading entrepreneurship centre and early stage technology investing platforms. CIIE.CO backs fearless entrepreneurs building disruptive solutions and stands with the startups at their risky early stages, when they need most support while there is hardly any available. Through the continuum of incubation, acceleration, capital and insights – they offer everything it takes for these driven entrepreneurs to make a superlative impact. CIIE.CO is a Centre of Excellence backed by the Government of India’s DST.
Terms & Conditions
By submitting the incubation program application form, the applicant acknowledges and agrees to abide by these terms and conditions:
- The selection of applicants for the program will be at the sole discretion of the organisers. The organisers’ decision regarding the selection of applicants is final and cannot be appealed.
- Acceptance into the program does not guarantee funding, investment with CIIE.CO or Pilot/POC opportunity with Banks.
- The organisers reserve the right to terminate an applicant’s participation in the program if the applicant violates any terms and conditions or exhibits inappropriate behavior.
- Participants are responsible for ensuring that their business complies with all legal and regulatory requirements.
- The organising institutions will not be held liable for any losses, damages, or expenses incurred by the applicants or participants during the application or incubation process.
- All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of the terms and conditions, or the rights and obligations of the participant and organisers, in connection with the program shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of India and the courts in Bangalore shall have jurisdiction over any action arising out of this program, and the venue shall be Bangalore.
- The organiser reserves the right to alter/ amend/ modify any rules of any program at any time without any notice whatsoever.
- All digital data or information provided in connection with the program may be used (saved, stored, processed, transmitted and deleted) by us in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated by reference into these event terms.
You may access organisers facilities for the program (the “Purpose”), and during such visit organiser may disclose, or you may have access to, certain business or confidential information of organiser (“Confidential Information”). You agree: (i) to use reasonable measures to maintain the Confidential Information in strict confidence; (ii) not to disclose the Confidential Information to any third parties; and (iii) not to use the Confidential Information for any purpose except the Purpose. These obligations will continue for five (5) years, except obligations with respect to organiser’s trade secrets will continue in perpetuity, and will not apply to the extent any Confidential Information is now or thereafter becomes generally known or available to the public, through no act or omission by you. You may make disclosures of Confidential Information required by law, regulation, or court order if you (A) send Scale prompt written notice of the required disclosure and (B) cooperate, at organiser’s expense, to prevent or limit the disclosure.
- By submitting the application, applicants agree to be bound by the latest version of the terms and conditions.