LONDON, 25 February 2013 - Small businesses and entrepreneurs with the potential to transform global financial services will have the chance to pitch their ideas to leading banks and investors, thanks to the London Innotribe Startup Challenge to be held at Level39, Canary Wharf on 18 April.
Hosted by Swift's Innotribe, with assistance from Canary Wharf Group, the Challenge will see 15 small technology and financial services companies competing to convince the banking sector to take on their innovative products and services. A panel consisting of heavyweight global financial services firms, VCs and other industry professionals will then select the best two start-ups from London to go to the global Grande Finale to be held at Sibos, Swift's annual conference, in Dubai in September.
The London Innotribe Startup Challenge is part of a global programme, with regional showcases in London's Canary Wharf, Singapore and New York designed to unearth the technologies and ideas which will help financial services better serve the global economy. A previous winner of the Challenge, Gust, subsequently received over US$12m in investment, with others securing large contracts with global financial services firms.
Matteo Rizzi, co-founder of Innotribe, said: "Level39 is an important catalyst for innovation in the financial industry, and is instrumental in positioning London as the hotbed of new and strategic initiatives. Innotribe is delighted to be part of an enterprise that will help drive innovation forward."
Start-ups will enjoy extraordinary visibility, relationship development opportunities and access to financial and start-up industry decision-makers, as well as preferential access to highly qualified industry experts."
Eric Van Der Kleij, Head of Level39 at Canary Wharf Group said: "It is very exciting to welcome the London Innotribe Startup Challenge as one of the first events at Level39, Canary Wharf. London has some of the smartest tech people in the world. If we can help mobilise them to transform financial services, they hold the potential to significantly benefit the global economy and in turn enhance London's position as the digital and financial capital of Europe. Our vision for Level39 is to be the place where technology and financial services converge in London. The aim is to foster the right kind of financial innovation, resulting in enhanced transparency, compliance whilst meeting the needs of customers."
The Innotribe Startup Challenge is sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland, HP, Level39 and Sberbank. Applications for the Innotribe Startup Challenge are now open and entries can be submitted here: http://innotribestartup.com/.
Deadline to submit an application is 10th March 2013.
About Innotribe
Launched in 2009, Innotribe is Swift's initiative to enable collaborative innovation in financial services. Innotribe presents an energising mix of education, new perspectives, collaboration, facilitation and incubation to professionals and entrepreneurs who are willing to drive change within their industry. It fosters creative thinking in financial services, through debating the options (at Innotribe events) and supporting the creation of innovative new solutions (through the Incubator, Startup Challenge and Proof of Concepts (POCs). It is through this approach, the Innotribe team at Swift is able to generate a platform that enables innovation across Swift and the financial community. For more information, please visit http://www.innotribe.com
About Swift
Swift is a member-owned cooperative that provides the communications platform, products and services to connect more than 10,000 banking organisations, securities institutions and corporate customers in 212 countries and territories. Swift enables its users to exchange automated, standardised financial information securely and reliably, thereby lowering costs, reducing operational risk and eliminating operational inefficiencies. Swift also brings the financial community together to work collaboratively to shape market practice, define standards and debate issues of mutual interest.
About Canary Wharf Group plc and Level39
Canary Wharf Group plc (CWG) is an integrated property development, investment and management group of companies. Canary Wharf has a working population of nearly 100,000 people in a diverse range of sectors for some of the world's leading companies. It has paved the way for the regeneration of London's Docklands and one in five Canary Wharf workers now lives in a local East London borough. It has helped London and the City consolidate its position at the centre of the business world.
Opening in March 2013, Level39 is Canary Wharf Group's specially-designed accelerator space for the financial and retail technology sectors. It provides sophisticated office and social spaces for businesses, incubators and accelerator programmes to create, test, market and deliver the next generation of technology products and services. Level39 is Europe's largest FinTech accelerator space and aims to improve the transparency, competitiveness and client services of London's financial services sector. Canary Wharf is part of Tech City and the Group's initiatives aim to complement existing clusters in the City-fringe, South Bank and West End.
For more information, please refer to http://www.innotribe.com/ or contact:
Swift
Press Office
Tel: +32 2 655 3377
pressoffice@swift.com
Cognito Europe
Claudia Coleman / Katherine Dvorkin
Tel: +44 (0) 207 426 9400
innotribe@cognitomedia.com
