BFA Global implemented the MSE Resilience Accelerator under Strive Mexico. This accelerator focused on growth-stage organizations—primarily fintech and e-commerce companies and startups, which received tailored support to identify, build, and test features and solutions that contributed to MSE resilience and the definition of potential pathways.
Our bespoke approach focused on the features, products, or solutions that established organizations could offer their MSE customers to improve resilience. These included digital management tools, credit in inventory and asset financing, microinsurance, pensions and savings products, capacity-building tools for business training and mentoring, digitization support, financial capability interventions, and digital commerce solutions.
The venture acceleration model began with a diagnostic phase to understand each business in depth and inform the design of subsequent sprints. This was followed by a series of acceleration sprints covering value proposition design, product development, data analytics, marketing, UX/UI, user research, and financial modeling.
We supported companies or organizations that met the following requirements:
What kind of support did the selected organization receive?
Each organization received 1 million Mexican Pesos and in-kind support from specialists in different business areas.
Did the selected organization paid anything?
No, each organization matched the bespoke support with in-kind contributions (i.e., the time they spent working with BFA Global to reach the acceleration milestones.)
How long did the acceleration take?
Each partner received 6-7 months of in-depth venture acceleration in the form of sprints that ran a few weeks to a month. The exact engagement looked different for each partner regarding the particular focus of the engagement or the sequence of the sprints.
What were the commitments that grant recipient organizations had to make?
Organizations committed to sharing lessons learned through the process and insights with the broader ecosystem so that lessons learned could benefit other organizations trying to serve MSEs, funders in the space, financial institutions seeking to partner, and other actors in the ecosystem, to fuel more innovation in building the resilience of MSEs.
How successful was the acceleration support provided by BFA Global?
The MSE Resilience Accelerator drew from BFA Global’s Catalyst Fund Accelerator. Catalyst Fund brought over six years of experience accelerating 61 tech companies across LatAm, Africa, and Asia and a trial-tested methodology to ensure the companies deliver affordable, accessible, and appropriate solutions for underserved consumers and MSEs.
What are some concrete examples of the support provided by BFA Global?
