Barclays Africa looks for innovation heads-up with nine start-ups
Barclays Africa will collaborate with nine firms to explore new technology-based solutions to improve its banking services.
The nifty nine are not just fintech but include Abe.ai and Kapitalwise from the US; FOMO Group and Byte Money from South Africa; and FlexPay, Spatialedge, Sun Exchange and Avenews-GT. Details below if you want the full show.
Yasaman Hadjibashi, chief creation officer at Barclays Africa, says: “Any of these solutions could have the potential to solve some of the biggest challenges facing the financial services sector in Africa.”
Hadjibashi lacks creation on what those challenges are – as they are not mentioned. But we can probably work them out.
The nine firms (there were ten in total) participated in the 2017 Barclays Accelerator, powered by Techstars, a network for entrepreneurs. The 13-week mentorship driven accelerator programme, hosted at Rise, Barclays Africa’s hub in Cape Town during May to July, follows the Techstars curriculum which comprises networking and development initiatives.
The companies showcased their solutions during a demo day held in Cape Town. The participating companies were selected in a competitive process that attracted applications from more than 50 countries. Barclays Africa says it is exploring potential agreements with further participants.
Rise, Barclays Africa’s hub in Cape Town, was established to foster innovation together with other Rise centres in New York, London, Mumbai, Tel Aviv and others.
The relevant fintech firms are:
- Abe.ai – Artificial intelligence (AI) platform for customer interactions;
- Spatialedge – Proprietary technology for spatial and consumer datasets;
- Sun Exchange – Own and lease solar panels to power African businesses. Powered by blockchain for micro-investing using smart-contracts;
- FOMO Group – Consists of two subsidiaries, FOMO Travel and FOMO Payments. The latter is for travellers to use gamified, lay-buy, interest-free payment solutions;
- Avenews-GT – Decentralised ecosystem for agricultural trade that provides a digital trading platform based on blockchain;
- Byte Money – Receipting and allocation firm targetting Sub Saharan Africa. Platform enables verified agent collections and real-time reporting for micro finance industry;
- FlexPay – Offers automated lay-buy purchase platform for merchants’ sales;
- Kapitalwise – Targets millennial investors in capital markets with digital platform.
Banking Technology Awards 2017 are now open for entry!
Know any innovative products, inspirational projects, skilled teams or visionary leaders that deserve a special recognition this year? Nominate them for a Banking Technology Award!
Deadline for submitting the nominations is 25 August 2017.
