NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

“Open sourcing social solutions”. I loved it since I first heard of it about 18 months ago while I was booking tickets, packing bags and spending long hours understanding “who was who” in this fascinating and rapidly changing base of the pyramid space.

I learned about it from Changemakers (most likely via NextBillion.net), an initiative of Ashoka whose idea competitions open the door for a very interesting dynamic of feedback and model refining between different stakeholders involved in this space.

After hosting competitions in areas as diverse as healthcare, water and tourism, Changemakers.net has naturally become?an obliged?stop for anyone interested in identifying, learning about?and getting in contact with innovative and entrepreneurial solutions to social challenges. Previous competitions have been highlighted in NextBillion.net in the past, and this year’s “Banking on Social Change -?Seeking Financial Solutions for All” competition is no exception. Following is Changemakers and Citi’s introduction to the competition:

Citi and Ashoka’s Changemakers are looking for the best solutions where financial opportunity is possible for all.

The advent of new financing methods – from mobile banking to peer-to-peer lending – are changing the way we access, spend and save our money. “Banking on Social Change: Seeking Financial Solutions for All” aims to unearth the most innovative and cutting-edge methods that allow financial security to become a reality for everyone.

The global competition is hosted on www.changemakers.net. Entrants will find resources, including collaborative partners and potential investors, while the global online community will discuss, debate and improve upon the most creative solutions.

As of? today, 87 entries have been submitted representing 18 countries. ?The deadline for new entrants/ nominations is September 30, so if you are involved in the financial inclusion realm or know about an innovative product in this field, enter the competition or nominate an innovative solution.

Best of luck to all the entrants! We look forward to learning and writing about recent innovations in this field.?And kudos to Amelia, Tyler and the rest of the team that makes Changemakers possible! ??