CHICAGO--()--The D2D Fund (D2D) and The Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI) committed to launch and administer a mobile applications competition as a part of the Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) meeting. The FinCapDev Competition will offer cash prizes and recognition to those who develop the best mobile applications (apps) to help Americans make smart financial choices and better access financial services.
“The time is right for a competition like this”
Fall 2012, D2D and CFSI will solicit proposals from developers, students, financial service firms, entrepreneurs, social innovators and more to develop functional mobile apps to promote financial access and capability. Entrants to the FinCapDev Competition with the best submissions will receive cash prizes, access to expert advice, and other resources needed to successfully develop and launch final prototypes. Such resources include design, technology, marketing and business strategy consulting support and access to research and open data sets on the supply of financial products in the U.S. and middle and lower-income consumers’ financial services preferences and behaviors.
"The time is right for a competition like this,” commented Timothy Flacke, Executive Director, D2D Fund. “Mobile technology has reached near ubiquity in the US, but many of us have only begun to fully appreciate the power of the modern phone. We believe the competition will challenge creative, thoughtful people to push the boundaries of this new technology - with lasting benefits for consumers and the country."
“The FinCapDev Competition is an ideal way to spur the development of next-generation tools help consumers' access financial products and better manage their money,” said Jennifer Tescher, president & CEO of CFSI. “We are excited to work with developers across the country as they think creatively and share their app proposals centered on meeting this important consumer need.”
D2D and CFSI have a long history of promoting financial access and financial capability for middle and lower-income consumers through research, pilot projects, convenings and education efforts. The competition capitalizes on the sponsors’ expertise, while introducing a new public challenge tool to their approach. In the near term the FinCapDev Competition will introduce new high-value apps into the market; over time the Competition will nurture an emerging “ecosystem” of stakeholders focused on the potential of mobile technology to increase financial inclusion.
The FinCapDev Competition is made possible by funding support provided by The Ford Foundation and the Citi Foundation.
To learn more about D2D, visit www.d2dfund.org or CFSI, visit www.cfsinnovation.com
About CFSI:
The Center for Financial Services Innovation is the nation’s leading authority on financial services for underbanked consumers. Since 2004, its programs have focused on informing, connecting, and investing – gathering enhanced intelligence, brokering and supporting productive industry relationships, and fostering best-in-class products and strategies. CFSI works with leaders and innovators in the business, government and nonprofit sectors to transform the financial services landscape. For more on CFSI, go to www.cfsinnovation.com or follow us on twitter @cfsinnovation.
About D2D:
Doorways to Dreams (D2D) Fund strengthens the financial opportunity and security of low and moderate income consumers by innovating, incubating and stimulating new financial products and policies. Operating at the intersection of the private, non-profit and public sectors, D2D incubates and promotes practical applications with social impact that might otherwise lack a champion to nurture and bring them to market. D2D was incorporated as a 501(c)3, non-for-profit organization in 2000 and is headquartered in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, across the street from Harvard University's recently opened Innovation Lab. For more on D2D, go to www.d2dfund.org
About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to create and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media.
To date CGI members have made more than 2,100 commitments, which are already improving the lives of nearly 400 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued at $69.2 billion.
CGI’s Annual Meeting is held each September in New York City. CGI also convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States, and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. For more information, visit clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.
About CGI America
President Clinton established the Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) to address economic recovery in the United States. CGI America brings together leaders in business, government, and civil society to generate and implement commitments to create jobs, stimulate economic growth, foster innovation, and support workforce development in the United States. Since its first meeting in June 2011, CGI America participants have made more than 100 commitments valued at $11.8 billion. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will improve the lives of three million people, create or fill more than 150,000 jobs, and invest and loan $354 million to small and medium enterprises in the United States. The 2012 CGI America meeting will take place June 7-8 in Chicago. To learn more, visit www.cgiamerica.org.
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