Citi Mobile Challenge begins in India

Financial products and services company Citi on Thursday announced Citi Mobile Challenge aimed at creating a platform for innovation to flourish in India with focus on mobile innovation in banking, payments and e-commerce ecosystem

The challenge, organised in collaboration with leading companies and institutions as sponsors, is seeking solutions across the ecosystem from startups, developers, tech companies and students, the initiative also supports the government thrust to digitize the economy and bolster entrepreneurship, Citi said in a statement.

"The Citi Mobile Challenge is aimed at harnessing the talent and agility of the developer and startup community in India to create affordable, accessible and transparent solutions for consumers," said Citi India country business manager Kartik Kaushik in the statement.

Open ended solutions with the flexibility to use a variety of Application Program Interfaces (API) from Citibank and other leading financial and technology companies also with the capability to run on Citi's digital platform globally are being sought, the statement added.

The challenge also extends to the entire Asia Pacific region offering $1,00,000 in cash awards with the opportunity to take the winning technologies into production with Citi's support and benefits like accelerator programs, mentoring, office space and investment.

Bengaluru will host the challenge's Indian finale on November 3.