Hot on the heels of a barnstorming year for fintech, the next seven startups to enter Accenture’s Fintech Innovation Lab have been announced.
The scheme, which was launched by the firm in 2012, is designed to help grow early-stage startups that are developing new technology for the financial sector.
For the third year in a row, the Lab will be based in Canary Wharf’s Level39 incubator and is supported by a range of other financial institutions, the Mayor of London, the City of London Corporation and Innovate UK.
Head of Level39 Erik Van der Kleij has heralded the “prestigious programme” a the curtain raiser for what he hopes will be “another thriving year for financial technology in London”.
Read more: 2014, the year fintech became a thing
And the finalists are…
The companies taking part in this year’s program are Atsora, Cytora, Duco, PontusVision, Ripjar, Torusware and xWare42. You can read a full description of each business below.
They will undertake 12 weeks of mentorship from financial experts, VCs, and angels among others and the startups will get the opportunity at the end to pitch to potential investors at a designated showcase event.
Previous startups to take part include Digital Shadows, BehavioSec and FinGenius.
Commercialising innovation
Accenture is one of a plethora of blue chip businesses hoping to capitalise on the growing UK startup ecosystem.
In 2014, Santander, Travelex and Deloitte all announced their own fintech investment funds and Barclays partnered with Techstars to launch an accelerator based in London.
“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,” says Richard Lumb, Accenture financial services chief executive.
“The Innovation Lab program also gives banks new exposure to the technologies they need to stay ahead.”
Deputy Mayor for London Kit Malthouse added that programs such as these are essential to continue building London as a leading fintech hub.
Read more: The best is yet to come for UK fintech
Full list of startups
- Atsora provides financial institutions with innovative tools for small business owners.
- Cytora uses web-based data to provide real-time geopolitical risk assessments to organisations that operate in volatile, emerging or complex markets.
- Duco is a technology company that helps financial services firms control and manage complex data.
- Pontus Networks helps businesses increase the performance of their computer systems.
- Ripjar’s platform provides real-time social media monitoring and data analysis.
- Torusware enables businesses to increase the processing speed of their IT systems, whether these systems are hosted on the cloud or implemented on premise.
- xWare42 is a software developer whose core product, xPay, allows banks to give customers additional information about their purchases.