Through JOIN Fincubator, JoPACC Opens Applications for the Race to Reach Challenge in Partnership with GIZ

On the 1st of April 2024, Jordan Payments and Clearing Company, through its JOIN Fincubator and in partnership with GIZ, announced the opening of applications for its one-of-a-kind internal challenge: Race to Reach.

This challenge is supported by the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) through its Innovative approaches for the financial inclusion of MSMEs (IFIN) Project. It aims to award grants to already incubated startups that target MSMEs with their solutions and support their access to digital financial services.

The disbursement of the grant will be tied to milestones set over a duration of 6 months, where participants will be working on building traction for their startups, targeting MSMEs and women-led MSMEs, to help their businesses grow and increase their chances of securing finances in addition to increasing their usage of digital financial services.

The Race to Reach challenge sets the following eligibility criteria for accepting applications from companies interested in participating:

• Registered Company: the participating startup must be a registered company with a designated bank account for fund disbursement. 
• Live Deployment: the solution implemented by the startup must be deployed and launched in the market. 
• MSME Reach: the solution must support MSME’s access to digital financial services. 
• Reporting: the applicant must provide financial projections and detailed expected outcomes that fall within the preset criteria and KPIs. 

On the 21st of April, JoPACC will announce the selected startups through a judging committee that will also identify the needed funding for each startup based on the milestones. A total prize pool of 150,000 JOD will be distributed among the selected qualified startups on the 22nd of April. 

Her Excellency Ms. Maha Bahou, CEO of JoPACC, commended the collaboration with GIZ, focusing on its vital support for MSMEs. Ms. Bahou stated: “With these enterprises making up 95% of Jordan's registered companies, our cooperation is more than strategic; it is essential for fostering economic growth in Jordan.”

Mr. Ulrich Hess, Project manager of GIZ implemented I-FIN project, states, "We are thrilled to collaborate with JoPACC on this transformative initiative. By harnessing the power of fintech innovation, we aim to empower MSMEs in Jordan to access and responsibly use financial tools and resources they need to grow and create jobs."

JoPACC’s objective with this challenge is to help accelerate the growth journey for the incubated startups that have just completed the JOIN Fincubator Incubation program and are ready for the next step, in addition to supporting the MSMEs access to digital financial services. 

This strategic partnership between JoPACC and GIZ marks as a pivotal milestone in fostering innovation and driving sustainable economic growth within the Kingdom’s fintech sector specifically focusing on enabling access to finance for MSMEs in Jordan.