7 start-ups selected for FinTech Innovation Lab London

20 January 2015 Consultancy.uk

Early January, Accenture announced the seven companies that have been selected for the ‘Innovation Lab London’ that aims at nurturing fintech start-ups that are developing new technologies for the financial services sector. The seven companies will follow a twelve week programme during which they will be mentored by leading financial institutions. At the end, each of them will get the opportunity to present their concept to potential investors.

FinTech Innovation Lab London
The FinTech Innovation Lab London is an in 2012 launched collaboration between consulting firm Accenture and leading UK financial institutions*, supported by the Mayor of London, the City of London Corporation and Innovate UK. The Lab has been established to help fintech (financial technology) start-ups that are developing new technologies for the financial services sector with the refinement and testing of their proposition with the support of the leading financial firms. “Commercialising innovations is often the toughest challenge for entrepreneurs and that’s why it is so valuable to bring these early-stage companies together with their potential customers,” explains Richard Lumb, Group Chief Executive Financial Services at Accenture.

Accentures FinTech Innovation Lab London

Every year, seven financial technology entrepreneurs are selected to participate in the FinTech Innovation Lab London. These companies will enter a mentoring programme, hosted at Level39, during which they will work with potential future customers, perfect their propositions and gain unique insights into the banking industry. For participating banks, the Lab also offers great business opportunities, explains Lumb. “The Innovation Lab program also gives banks new exposure to the technologies they need to stay ahead. Since we launched the London Lab three years ago, the 14 companies that have passed through the program have raised more than $25 million in new investment and signed nearly 50 contracts to do business with banks.”

During the twelve weeks, the start-ups will participate in panel discussions, workshops, leadership coaching and networking opportunities. The programme will be concluded with the opportunity for the entrepreneurs to present their concepts to potential investors and participating industry executives at an investor Day, hosted at Royal Bank of Scotland on March 26, 2015.

An overview of this year’s seven selected companies:

Accenture is not the only consulting firm assisting technology start-ups through an intense mentoring programme. Recently, counterpart EY also announced the seven tech companies selected to take part in the EY Startup Challenge, set up to find technology solutions for companies to tackle data privacy issues.

* Financial institutions supporting the FinTech Innovation Lab London include Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citi, credit suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds Banking Group, Morgan Stanley, Nationwide, RBS, Santander and UBS.