Swift innovation unit Innotribe is inviting young fintech firms in Russia and Africa to apply for participation in two distinct Startup Challenge programmes.
For the third time, Innotribe will provide networking opportunities with banks and VCs to selected fintech startups during Swift’s African Regional conference in May.
Ten startups will be chosen to undergo mentoring and coaching and to pitch their ideas to the 500 delegates attending the conference. The top three firms will each receive $10,000 in funding and an invite to attend Swift's annual Sibos jamboree in Toronto.
The Startup Challenge is also traveling to Russia for the first time in search for the best fintech startups to showcase their products during the Bank of Russia’s International Financial Congress (IFC) in July 2017. Innotribe is partnering with its local user group, comprising Bank of Russia, the National Settlement Depository, Sberbank, and Alfa-Bank to organise the showcase.
In 2016, Innotribe evolved its Startup Challenge to focus on emerging fintech ecosystems, moving from a global competition to a local programme, with the aim of supporting innovation where demographic trends, economic growth and regional integration projects are creating fertile ground for new technologies to emerge.