05 Dec Global boom in fintech initiatives
Last week we already mentioned the launch of fintech hubs in Sydney and Stockholm, showing that fintech is on top of the agenda in every region in the world. This week really saw a global boom in initiatives that are aiming at fostering innovation in the financial services sector.
Citi Ventures announced a partnership with Plug and Play Tech Center to expand Citi’s accelerator efforts in the US, Germany, Singapore, Brazil and Spain. This program will utilize Citi’s global lab network while building on its first FinTech accelerator, launched in Tel Aviv, Israel in 2013.
Berlin-based company builder HitFox announced the start of an incubator called FinLeap. It plans to support four to six FinTech companies a year. HitFox, an ad-tech and big data company, has announced that its FinLeap division will open offices in Berlin and San Francisco
Startupbootcamp ended its FinTech London accelerator program last month and it announced the start of a new Fintech accelerator program in Asia. The program provides funding, mentorship, office space and access to a network of industry partners, investors and venture capital firms for 10 selected Singapore-based FinTech startups.
MasterCard announced the launch of FinTech Mexico 2015, a new accelerator program designed to benefit entrepreneurs in Mexico City. The program is the result of the partnership between Village Capital, Accion Venture Lab and the MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth.
A few days later MasterCard announced the launch of a Lab for Financial Inclusion in Kenya, Nairobi, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop financial services that help people build better futures. The Lab focuses on the expansion of digital financial services.
KPMG, IBM, Innopay and Van Doorne announced that they joined Holland FinTech. They are the first launching members of the Holland Fintech initiative, that aims to foster and accelerate innovation in the Dutch financial sector by bringing together start-ups, (large) traditional organisations and investors in one single network.
