2025 Global Economic Prosperity Challenge

How can communities use technology to build and sustain financial and economic opportunities and resilience for all?

Challenge Overview

The rapid development of technologies like AI offers new capabilities and creates new opportunities, yet significant global disparities persist: 2.6 billion people remain offline, 1.4 billion are unbanked and two billion work in informal economies. These challenges are particularly acute for vulnerable communities and women when digital access and verifiable identification are prerequisites for modern financial services. Financial providers often lack incentives to expand services to underserved markets, while factors such as limited technological literacy, institutional mistrust, and local cultural practices can impede the adoption of digital tools. Addressing economic opportunity gaps requires a coordinated approach to overcome barriers to digital access, financial services, and labor market participation.

Technology and innovation can be powerful levers to close these gaps through targeted solutions; whether by offering targeted financial tools to unbanked populations, enabling communication across language barriers through real-time translation, and creating adaptable interfaces that accommodate diverse user needs and abilities in employment contexts. When designed and deployed responsibly, these innovations can address specific community needs while scaling to create more accessible financial systems, expand qualified workforce participation, and strengthen economic resilience against disruptions from conflict, climate change, and financial instability.

MIT Solve seeks exceptional technology-driven solutions to increase economic prosperity for all with a 2025 focus on solutions that:

• Enable universal access to financial services, including innovative fintech tools for banking, insurance, credit, instant payments, and asset ownership.
• Increase digital participation and security, including reliable connectivity and protected online spaces that safeguard civic participation, privacy, and digital identity.
• Expand workforce development, such as through skill-based training, employment matching, and career mobility programs, or worker safety and benefits, with an emphasis on underinvested populations.

Prizes

MIT Solve – Solver Award
All Solver teams selected for Solve’s Global Challenges and the Indigenous Communities Fellowship will receive a $10,000 grant funded by Solve.

The Seeding The Future Food Systems Prize
The Seeding the Future Food Systems Prize is open to high impact innovations focusing on transforming food systems to be more sustainable, and to enable equitable access to safe and nutritious food that is affordable and trusted. Solutions benefitting underserved communities, countries or regions are encouraged to apply. Up to $150,000 will be awarded to two or more high-impact solutions selected for any of Solve’s 2025 Global Challenges. This prize is supported by the Seeding The Future Foundation, a private nonprofit organization that seeds and supports innovative solutions to help improve the global food system.

The E Ink Innovation Prize
The E Ink Innovation Prize is open to solutions that currently utilize or propose to utilize ePaper materials, technology, or displays to address problems of global importance in any of Solve’s areas of impact, including topics such as architecture, education, or intercultural understanding. The prize is funded by E Ink, a corporation that advances healthy solutions and a sustainable future using ultra-low power, daylight readable displays. Up to $100,000 will be awarded to up to four Solver teams selected for any of the 2025 Global Challenges or Solve’s existing portfolio of alumni teams. E Ink may also opt to provide materials and technical support to its prize recipients.

The AI for Humanity Prize
The AI for Humanity Prize is open to solutions leveraging data science, artificial intelligence, and/or machine learning to benefit humanity. The prize is made possible by The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, a philanthropy committed to advancing AI and data solutions to create a thriving, equitable, and sustainable future for all. Up to $150,000 will be awarded across several Solver teams from any of the 2025 Global Challenges.

The Citizens Workforce Innovation Prize
The Citizens Workforce Innovation Prize seeks to accelerate the development of solutions that will prepare people for today’s opportunities and the workplace of the future, advance new ways of working, and drive economic impact within communities. Funded by Citizens, the prize furthers the company’s commitment to helping communities meet today’s demands while positioning themselves well for the future. Up to $100,000 will be awarded to up to four Solver teams across all 2025 Global Challenges or Solve’s portfolio of alumni teams. Preference will be given to solutions that can be implemented to address workforce development challenges in Boston, MA and New York, NY that also have scaling potential to other geographies.

The Crescent Enterprises ‘AI for Social Innovation’ Prize
The Crescent Enterprises ‘AI for Social Innovation’ Prize supports groundbreaking solutions that leverage data science, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to tackle critical global social challenges. Sponsored by Crescent Enterprises – a diversified conglomerate spanning industries such as ports and logistics, power and engineering, food and beverage, life sciences and business aviation – the prize reflects the company’s dedication to innovation, sustainability, and meaningful global impact.

Up to $100,000 will be awarded to as many as four Solver teams addressing the 2025 Global Challenges or selected from Solve’s portfolio of alumni teams. This prize aims to recognise and accelerate the growth of transformative solutions, driving positive change for a better future.