MIT Awards $250,000 to ftcash for Most Innovative Future of Work in the World

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Initiative on the Digital Economy has announced ftcash as the global grand prize winner for the 2018 MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge (IIC). The winning organization has been selected by the IIC Champion Committee from 20 Regional Winners in Latin America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.

The MIT IIC awards $1.6 million globally to organizations that are using technology to reinvent the future of work and create a more equitable economy.

ftcash was previously the regional winner of the Inclusive Innovation Challenge in Bangkok, Thailand. All the IIC regional winners received an expenses-paid trip to MIT for the Grand Prize Gala.

Vaibhav Lodha, Co-founder of ftcash, said, “It is our absolute pleasure and honour to be recognized by MIT. This award represents the highest achievement in inclusive technology, but in our case, it is a validation and reflection of our mission of financial inclusion that resonates with millions of individuals globally. This gives us extraordinary power for us at ftcash to march for inclusion, to reignite the movement for “the missing middle”; to create a just society.”

Vikram Gupta, Managing Partner, IvyCap Ventures, said, “ftcash has established itself as one of the most innovative companies today in the fintech sector and the recognition from MIT is a testimony to their focus on product-market fit to serve this credit-starved market segment.”

Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, stated, “We created the MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge to recognize and reward the many amazing people and organizations that are working to accomplish this mission.”

Andrew McAfee, Co-director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, added, “With the MIT IIC, we’re celebrating the entrepreneurs and innovators who are demonstrating many different ways to put powerful technology to use to improve people’s economic prospects. Our winners and other entrants show us that broadly shared prosperity is possible, which makes a great antidote to pessimism and negativity.”