Denmark's Danske Bank is partnering with Mastercard and NFT Ventures on Nordic fintech engagement programme, Lighthouse.
The Lighthouse concept focuses on providing a platform based on collaboration between the largest banks in the Nordics, global financial companies like Mastercard, advisors, and the most promising fintech companies in the region.
Mats Taraldsson, head of digital development and fintech engagement, Mastercard, says: "We believe that the Lighthouse programme is a completely new approach to working with startups that are poised to scale and benefit from Mastercard’s global network. Danske Bank joining the Lighthouse program as our Danish banking partner reaffirms our ambition that Lighthouse should be the best place to build partnerships with not only Mastercard but also the leading banks we work with."
The spring edition of the Lighthouse programme begins this week with 15 attending fintechs from three countries and one of the first workshops will be held in Copenhagen. The five Danish fintechs in attendance are ERNIT, Spiir (In which Danske Bank already has an investment), Hufsy, GoAppified, and Zliide.
Johan Lundberg, founding partner of Swedish NFT Ventures, says: “We saw a void in the market for fintechs that have found their initial product-market fit and are in a position to really grow by working with incumbent players and their large networks. Lighthouse is unique in that sense and serves as a platform for fintechs to connect with incumbents. That is why building a strong network of banking partners is key and Danske Bank has done a tremendous job of being active in Danish fintech and will make a great addition to the Lighthouse program.”
The conclusion of the programme is the announcement of the Lighthouse winner which will be paraded at Money20/20 in Amsterdam in June.
Morten Schwaner, head of card and mobile payments, Danske Bank says: "We strongly believe that we can create more value for our customers through partnerships, which is a core pillar in our strategy, and we are looking forward to taking part in the Lighthouse program. We expect it to be a great opportunity to build partnerships with talented Fintech’s through Mastercard’s global network."