Latest news with #FinnovateHackathon
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Innovating India's Banking Future: Finnovate Hackathon Paves the Way for Language-Driven Financial Inclusion
The Indian finance and banking sector is experiencing a phenomenal change. Accelerated digitisation, the emergence of fintech start-ups, and increasing customer expectations are revolutionising the way the financial sector works. With this change comes an unprecedented set of challenges—especially in a nation as linguistically and digitally diverse as India. Language remains one of the biggest barriers to financial inclusion for all today. Millions of Indians are struggling to access the banking system effectively due to the dominance of English and limited regional language support on digital channels. At the same time, the industry is being required to make things simpler, more personalised, and automated with document-intensive processes such as lending and KYC. These are not tech gaps—these are inclusion and growth barriers. Enter Finnovate Hackathon, a collaborative initiative designed to address precisely these issues. Finnovate Hackathon is a unique platform for fintech and banking startups and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) where they can innovate, cooperate, and create high-impact ideas to address some of the most pressing issues in the Indian financial ecosystem. Organised by Mint, sponsored by Bhashini, and chaired by Kyndryl, the hackathon aims to encourage experiential, scalable, and technology-based solutions to five key problem statements that are the most urgent operational and customer experience challenges of banks in the current times. The hackathon's themes are rooted in real-world friction points: Breaking Language Barriers: Participants are tasked with leveraging AI-powered translation and conversational interfaces to make banking services accessible in multiple Indian languages. Participants are tasked with leveraging AI-powered translation and conversational interfaces to make banking services accessible in multiple Indian languages. Digital Transformation: Innovators will work on enhancing OCR and multilingual translation capabilities to streamline document processing—a common roadblock in areas like loan applications and onboarding. Innovators will work on enhancing OCR and multilingual translation capabilities to streamline document processing—a common roadblock in areas like loan applications and onboarding. Personalised Customer Experience: Teams are expected to develop multi-lingual virtual assistants that can integrate seamlessly with core banking systems, offering personalised support to users in their preferred language. Teams are expected to develop multi-lingual virtual assistants that can integrate seamlessly with core banking systems, offering personalised support to users in their preferred language. Multilingual Product Promotion & Day-to-Day Activities: Addressing everyday use cases, this problem statement calls for AI-driven solutions that break language barriers in marketing and daily banking interactions. Addressing everyday use cases, this problem statement calls for AI-driven solutions that break language barriers in marketing and daily banking interactions. Unified Lending Interface (ULI): By digitising and applying OCR to loan documents, participants can contribute to a more efficient and user-friendly lending experience. By digitising and applying OCR to loan documents, participants can contribute to a more efficient and user-friendly lending experience. Financial Services LLM: Another challenge involves developing a specialised Large Language Model (LLM) trained on financial terminology, with the potential to revolutionise customer interactions, analytics, and backend operations. Each of these themes reflects the current gaps in India's banking infrastructure—gaps that, if addressed effectively, could unlock the next wave of digital banking growth and financial inclusion. Finnovate isn't your average hackathon open to all developers or students. It specifically invites: Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) operating in the fintech and banking domains. operating in the fintech and banking domains. Startup teams with experience in BFSI. with experience in BFSI. Banking and Financial Institution representatives looking to co-develop solutions. looking to co-develop solutions. Technology Experts specialising in AI, machine learning, and OCR. Participants must form a team of 2 to 4 members. The first registrant becomes the team leader, who then invites others. Importantly, all team members must be employed by a startup or ISV operating in the BFSI space, students and unemployed individuals are not eligible. Cross-company teams are permitted, allowing diverse collaboration across the sector. However, participants must choose one of the problem statements, and that track must remain consistent for all team members. The participants are required to follow a well-defined code of conduct: All the work should be original and done within the hackathon period. Pre-written, third-party, or AI-written code will result in disqualification. Projects should be in on time; late submissions will be at the organisers' discretion. Participants consent to uphold principles of respect and integrity, thereby fostering a positive and inclusive atmosphere consistently. The assessment of an individual's employment status may occur at any time, with inconsistencies potentially leading to the disqualification of a team. Such safeguards are designed to maintain the event's professionalism, focus, and adherence to its fundamental objectives. As a global leader in mission-critical enterprise technology services, Kyndryl is no stranger to complexity. In India, Kyndryl supports major BFSI institutions—including both small finance and large-scale banks—on their digital transformation journeys. Their involvement in Finnovate reflects a strong belief in building agile, inclusive, and customer-centric solutions through collaboration. The term "Kyndryl" summarises this spirit, "Kyn" for affiliation and kinship, and "-dryl" borrowed from tendrils, thus reminding one of new growth. Finnovate is an extension of these principles; it is a program designed to foster new ideas, encourage closer affiliation of fintech with traditional systems, and spur growth of the banking ecosystem in a direction that includes everyone. India's financial sector is at a crossroads. On one hand, we have cutting-edge AI and digital capabilities; on the other, we have fundamental issues of accessibility, language, and outdated manual processes. Competitions like the Finnovate Hackathon are not just competitions but drivers of change. They bring together the industry's best minds to break through barriers and solve challenges that have far-reaching real-world consequences. With its cutting-edge focus on multilingual solutions, document digitisation, and smart customer service, Finnovate has the potential to be a trendsetter for a more inclusive and smart banking experience—one in which language, accessibility, and innovation harmonise with each other.
Mint
30-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
Kyndryl and Mint Join Forces with Bhashini for Finnovate Hackathon, Igniting Fintech Innovation
In a powerful collaboration aimed at revolutionizing the financial technology landscape, global IT infrastructure services provider Kyndryl and Mint are launching the Finnovate Hackathon, with crucial support from Bhashini, the national language translation mission of India. This dynamic initiative invites startups and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) focused on Fintech and Banking to converge and develop cutting-edge solutions addressing pressing challenges within the banking sector. Kyndryl, renowned for its expertise in simplifying complex IT environments and enabling customer innovation, brings its deep understanding of the financial services industry to this exciting endeavor. As the world's largest provider of IT infrastructure services, Kyndryl is dedicated to ensuring the seamless operation and continuous advancement of the critical systems underpinning the digital economy. By partnering with Mint, a platform known for fostering innovation and connecting stakeholders, and leveraging the linguistic prowess of Bhashini, the Finnovate Hackathon is poised to unlock groundbreaking solutions. The Finnovate Hackathon centers around three pivotal themes designed to drive tangible improvements in the banking experience: Breaking Language Barriers: Participants will explore the potential of AI-powered translation and conversational interfaces to effectively serve India's diverse linguistic customer base. Participants will explore the potential of AI-powered translation and conversational interfaces to effectively serve India's diverse linguistic customer base. Digital Transformation: The hackathon will challenge teams to enhance document processing capabilities through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and multilingual translation, streamlining document handling workflows. The hackathon will challenge teams to enhance document processing capabilities through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and multilingual translation, streamlining document handling workflows. Personalized Customer Experience: Innovators will focus on creating personalized, multi-lingual virtual support agents that seamlessly integrate with core banking systems, delivering superior customer service. This collaborative platform welcomes a diverse range of participants, including: Independent Software Vendors (ISVs): Fintech and banking-focused ISVs eager to pioneer innovative solutions. Fintech and banking-focused ISVs eager to pioneer innovative solutions. Architects and Developers from Startups: Individuals associated with the banking industry with a drive to develop groundbreaking solutions. Individuals associated with the banking industry with a drive to develop groundbreaking solutions. Banking and Financial Institutions: Representatives seeking collaboration with ISVs to foster innovation within their organizations. Representatives seeking collaboration with ISVs to foster innovation within their organizations. Technology Experts: Specialists in AI, machine learning, and OCR looking to contribute their expertise to the banking sector. The Finnovate Hackathon will unfold in a structured four-stage process: Registration Phase: An initial 4-week period for interested participants to register. Ideation Round: Teams will submit their innovative ideas based on the defined problem statements. A jury from Mettl will evaluate these submissions, selecting the top 20 teams to advance. MVP Round: The shortlisted teams will be tasked with developing semi-working prototypes based on their ideations. The Mettl jury will again evaluate these prototypes, selecting the top 10 teams for the final round. Jury Presentation Round: The final 10 teams will present their ideas in a webinar format to a distinguished Grand Jury comprising representatives from Kyndryl, Bhashini, and the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) community. The winners will be announced during this webinar. The Finnovate Hackathon offers significant rewards to recognize and encourage innovation. The top three winning teams will receive cash prizes of ₹ 5 Lakhs, ₹ 3 Lakhs, and ₹ 1 Lakhs respectively. This unique initiative by Kyndryl and Mint, powered by Bhashini, promises to be a catalyst for innovation in the Fintech and Banking sectors, fostering the development of impactful solutions that address real-world challenges and enhance the digital experiences of millions. Note to the reader: This article is part of Mint's paid consumer connect initiative and is independently created by the brand. Mint assumes no editorial responsibility for the content, including its accuracy, completeness, or any errors or omissions. Readers are advised to verify all information independently. First Published: 30 Apr 2025, 06:34 PM IST
