SWIFT Innotribe has announced the 15 European startups and innovators that will compete in its annual London Startup Challenge semi-final
The Innotribe Startup Challenge will be held in London on April 18 at Level39 in Canary Wharf, to find the top European startups that are innovating in the financial industry. Tech City News will be reporting on the competition later this month.
This year’s Innotribe Startup Challenge semi-finalists are:
- Azimo
- BioCatch
- CrowdBnk
- Device Ident GmbH
- FNA
- Kwanji
- Moola
- Open Bank Project
- Paymandate
- StudentFunder
The growth-stage innovators are:
- Finantix
- GBR Direct
- Virtual Piggy, Inc.
- Waratek
- Zafin Labs
Andres Fintao, partner, Finnovista, who sat on the judging panel to form the shortlist of startups said:
“We are always looking for bright, new talent and the Innotribe Startup Challenge allows startups the opportunity to gain access to the wider financial community and funding that they need. It has been an interesting experience seeing what innovative products and services we have to offer in London and I look forward to seeing the final 15 entrepreneurs present their ideas at Level39.”
Angels, VCs and more
The semi-finalists will pitch their original business ideas to a panel of the financial industry’s leading angels, VCs and other decision makers. The winners of the London Innotribe Startup Challenge will the go on to compete against the winners from New York City and Singapore at the grande finale held at Sibos, SWIFT’s annual conference which will be held in Dubai next September.
“We’ve chosen London as the location for the European showcase of the 2013 Challenge as it is becoming more and more important in helping drive innovation in the region forward,” says Matteo Rizzi, co-founder of Innotribe. “The goal is to bring innovation and technology expertise to the banking hub of Europe. Last year’s Challenge was a great success and I look forward to providing the opportunity to talented entrepreneurs and promising startups in London.”
The winners will then go on to receive advice and funding from SWIFT to develop new and innovative fintech products and services. The London semi-final will take place on April 18, while the Singapore and New York City Startup Challenges will be held on May 16 and June 13 respectively.