Fintech + AI Innovation of the Year

Description

This award is open to all ‘financial technology’ products (software or hardware – including AI) that have been active and operational between 2022 and 24, with significant progress during this time.  A long-running fintech programme is also eligible, provided that the application focuses on the progress made in the 2022-24 timeframe.   The fintech product should have generated a positive impact for the environment or in the community, and helped to improve quality of life on a local, national or international level. This positive impact could have been created either directly or indirectly (for example by helping a third sector organisation to achieve its objectives).

Judges do not expect perfection in all aspects of the activities of the organisation that has developed this fintech: they know that embedding sustainable finance across all activities is a challenging process! But the fintech product cannot be an isolated example of sustainability within the activities of the organisation: the judges expect a company to also show evidence that it takes appropriate account of social and environmental issues in wider aspects of its business.

The judging panel will be looking for details on how and why the technology was created and developed, its goals and ethos as well as its sustainability, scalability, availability and originality. The judges will also be interested to hear about the challenges faced in developing the technology, how these were overcome and what support and training was provided to the end user to maximise the potential.

With fintech having the potential to address some of the world’s biggest social and environmental challenges, the judges will specifically be looking for evidence of verifiable community / social or environmental impact. Entrants are asked to provide details about the scale of the challenge being tackled by the technology, the degree to which it has helped to date, and an estimate of its potential success in the future.

Consideration will be given to effective promotion of the fintech to encourage its use, and whether it is scalable and replicable. Extra credit will be given to those entrants that inspire behavioural change either locally or across the world.

Where the fintech involves AI, judges will take into account efforts to avoid any negative impacts associated with its implementation.

Criteria

Judges will be looking for evidence of progress on the following points (weighting percentages in brackets):

  • Details of the fintech innovation, how and why it was developed, challenges overcome, support and training provided, its goals and ethos as well as its sustainability, availability and originality (35%)

  • Evidence of its effectiveness and verifiable positive impact to the community, society or environment (40%)

  • Awareness raising: how effectively it has been communicated; evidence of its reach and influence, particularly the extent to which it has inspired behavioural change (15%)

  • The wider potential for scalability and replicability (10%)

Any confidential data will be treated as such and only shared with the judging panel, all of whom will have signed NDAs.