The ILP Digital Financial Services Grant is now open for applications.
This grant is a culmination of previous phases (research, development, and prototyping), and promises even greater opportunities for a diverse range of ideas.
This year we are offering two tracks, each designed to cater to a wide spectrum of proposals. This includes participation as Interledger network nodes, spanning from digital wallets and mobile money providers to banks, savings coops, and neo-banks. As well as the flexibility to enable payments with Interledger via innovative digital payment products, platforms, or apps.
- Track 1: Interledger | Enabled
This grant opportunity allows existing digital financial service entities to implement Rafiki into their working financial infrastructure, resulting in a new node on the Interledger Network.
- Track 2: Interledger | Unlocked
Do you need to expand your payment options in your web-based platform? Then you could use our Open Payment APIs and use this grant opportunity. A good example of an ideal candidate for this grant is an e-commerce site or donation platform.
For both tracks 1 and 2, each submission must highlight a clear plan for the following:
- Describe or showcase an existing financial services solution or product, and its readiness to use or integrate into the Interledger network or suite of Interledger technologies. It must outline, where applicable,
- A proof-of-concept, demos, and architectural diagrams outlining plans to incorporate the Open Payments API, ILP, or any other elements of the Interledger tech stack.
- Understand how the proposed service will enable money to be transferred to the ILP network.
- Plan for interoperability across systems or currencies.
Access to or involvement of an identified and engaged community ready to test, use, and benefit from the project. This can indicate the potential impact of a solution, and it shows the potential for a viable distribution channel for the solution.
For this grant cycle, the funding amount will be based on the track, as follows:
- Interledger | Enabled - USD 250,000.00
- Interledger | Unlocked - USD 150,000.00
Applicants can submit project duration ranges between 6 and 12 months. All applications will be evaluated based on their milestones, human resource capacity, and ability to successfully execute the project in the slated timeframe.
This grant will open on April 30, 3024 at noon (EDT) and will close on August 30, 2024, at 11:59 am (EDT).
Through this grant, we want to ensure that emerging financial services, products, and innovative solutions come from and are created outside of the typical locales and demographics. To this end, we will increase the scoring of the following criteria in our judging process for this grant program:
- Projects are located in and serve geographical locations outside North America and Western Europe.
- Projects where a lead applicant is a person of color or the team represents a diverse group.
- The output of the team benefits communities that have been historically underrepresented.
- Funds are explicitly budgeted to address the increasing participation of historically marginalized and underrepresented communities.
- The project displays an understanding and commitment to using open-source principles, including open-source software adoption.
This grant opportunity is ONLY available to registered entities such as companies (startup phase or already established), NGOs, Educational institutions, and Co-Operatives.
Interested applicants can download a copy of the Application Guide for the ILP Digital Financial Services grant to access information on the grant process, requirements, resource list, and other details essential to applying for this opportunity.
We invite you to connect with us via email at programteam@interledger.org or through our various communication channels: Community Forum, and Interledger Slack. Feel free to join the #cfp-financial-services group or utilize the grant inquiry request form to ask specific questions, or get further details on this grant opportunity.
Apply for the 2024 ILP-enabled Financial Services grant here.
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