Sofocle, Easter Egg and Belfrics win the fintech start-up challenges sponsored by the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh
Vizag, 10th October, 2017: The Govt. of Andhra Pradesh partnered with IDFC and Fullerton to incentivise the start-ups’ kick-started one of the most significant fintech start-up challenges of the country. Start-ups from all across India, presented their innovative ideas and breakthrough solutions to some of the most reputable corporates. The initiative was led by KPMG by executing the three challenges.
The challenges kick-started in August, 2017 spanning three categories. They received 80 plus entries collectively. The winners were awarded with a cash prize of 5 lakhs and the runners up were awarded with 2 lacs. The entries were judged on the parameters of Solution Fitment, Ease of Implementation, Business Impact and Innovation.
The winners were awarded by Mr. J A Chowdary, Special Chief Secretary & IT Advisor to the Chief Minister – Government of Andhra Pradesh. ‘Fullerton India Supply Chain Finance Challenge’ was won by Sofocle, they believe in bringing transparency and trust in supply chain financing ecosystem for better liquidity, through Blockchain. The runner up was Inner Minds.
‘IDFC Bank International Remittance Challenge’ was won by Easter Egg Company, it is the multi sector, multi asset platform integrating remittances, payments, gifting, loyalty and rewards. The runners up were Akaza Labs and Thinkblink. Easter Egg were also awarded with ‘The Outstanding idea in Blockchain’ by Rubique and a wild card entry to Fintech Edge Award in Mumbai.
‘Business Process for Govt. Challenge’ was awarded to Belfrics, it is a comprehensive bitcoin trading platform and digital wallet. The runner up was Katina technology.
Mr. J.A. Chowdhary, Special Chief Secretary & IT Advisor to the Chief Minister – Government of Andhra Pradesh said, “The Government of Andhra Pradesh has taken a lead in becoming the next fintech and education hub of the globe. Through the significant scope of this challenge alone, we aim to develop Andhra Pradesh to house the next generation of blockchain technology users and operationalize the use case repositories.”
Speaking on this occasion Neha Punater, Partner and Head, Digital Strategy, Innovation and Fintech at KPMG expressed “We are delighted to be part of one of the most significant start-up challenges of the country. In collaboration with the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, we are proud to take forward the ideology of innovation and technology to cultivate skill development and better job creation in the country.”