A Strategic Call for Tech-Enabled Tools That Strengthen Community Lending
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Prosperity Now, in collaboration with Accenture and Avanade, announced today the launch of the 2025 RISE Challenge, a national open call for implementation-ready solutions that improve how community capital is delivered, managed, and measured.  The Challenge seeks digital and technical assistance tools that strengthen the capacity of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and other community lenders to reach borrowers who remain locked out of traditional financing.  
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Now in its second year, the RISE Challenge is not a prize competition – it is an innovation pipeline. One selected solution will be embedded into Prosperity Next, Prosperity Now’s flagship innovation initiative to modernizing lending infrastructure, improve deployment efficiency, and expand access to capital for businesses with less access to traditional financial institutions.  
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“This year’s Challenge is about practical progress,” said Marisa Calderon, President and CEO of Prosperity Now. “We’re not just surfacing promising ideas, we’re awarding contracts to real solutions that can be tested, adapted, and scaled inside the lending ecosystem. It’s about moving from insight to infrastructure.”
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A Structured Innovation Track for Community Lending

Each year, the RISE Challenge selects one winning solution aligned with a specific focus area of Prosperity Next. The 2025 theme is digital and technical assistance tools for CDFIs, targeting platforms that streamline processes, improve data visibility, and reduce manual bottlenecks for lenders. Selected solutions are tested with community lenders, evaluated using operational data, and refined to meet market needs. The goal is not just innovation, it’s long-term viability.
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Annual Focus Areas of the RISE Challenge:

• 2025: Digital and technical assistance tools for CDFIs

• 2026: AI-driven lending and risk modeling

• 2027: Loan liquidity and secondary market infrastructure
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“At its heart, Accenture’s Founders Development Program is about creating a space where all entrepreneurs, regardless of background, have a fair shot at building their businesses, and 2025 RISE Challenge aligns well with this mission,” said Dujon Smith from Accenture Ventures. “Through this year’s Challenge, we’re taking a big step toward rethinking how community lending works. By focusing on digital tools and smarter tech, we’re supporting solutions that tackle real gaps in the lending space and enabling fairer access to capital.”
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Rodrigo Caserta, CEO, Avanade said: “At Avanade, we believe technology has the power to create more inclusive opportunities but only if it’s designed with equity at its core. The 2025 RISE Challenge represents exactly that: applying digital innovation to break down long-standing barriers in community lending. We’re proud to continue our partnership with Prosperity Now to help scale practical solutions that expand access to capital, fuel entrepreneurship, and drive systemic change. This is how we make a genuine human impact by ensuring every entrepreneur, regardless of background, has the tools they need to succeed.”
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How to Apply

Applications for the 2025 RISE Challenge are open through August 22, 2025. Finalists will be invited to pitch their solutions at the Prosperity Summit (October 5-7 in Washington, D.C.) where one winner will be selected to begin deployment inside Prosperity Next.

If your organization offers a solution that helps CDFIs lend smarter, faster, or more consistently, now is the time to act. Learn more and submit your proposal here.  

Questions? Email development@prosperitynow.org.  

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