Dubai is just around the corner, and the sleepless nights as well, as part of the package.
The startup challenge will be one of the focal points of a very busy Innotribe week.
I am sure you are familiar with the program, if not you can find it here
Many times I have been asked “why” and “why SWIFT” … About engaging with startups in this way and dedicate resources of the cooperative to something that – apparently – has little to do with SWIFT business.
Saying “SWIFT is a community first and foremost” (few of you would remember who said this) is something that – personally – has driven my work of the past 6 years (out of the 12 I spent in this company). It started with swiftcommunity.net, and continued with Innotribe.
It s what I called the platform groundwork.
It s about provide the financial community with the right Eco-systems, adapted to the world we live in, to share what s good to share. Let me explain myself better: the startup challenge give the best perspective on what type of disruption are coming into our space, and this (if you take the side of the community) HAS to be common knowledge. Many banks are not equipped to see this, many others entered this space with their venture arm, trying to grasp the opportunities that every disruption engenders.
This is why we do the startup challenge. This is why it s free (unlike many other events where companies pay to pitch) and UNIQUE in this field.
We are proud to announce the outcome of our three regional challenges (brutally copy pasted from the Sibos article, in case you missed it)…
The six growth-stage innovator finalists are:
GIEOM, a product that interconnects banking operations providing information on business processes, screen simulations of IT systems, e-books of regulations and business performance.
Quantum4D, visual analytic software that allows users to access large-scale data systems, and construct, edit and explore interlinked 3D arenas and workspaces intuitively.
The Entrepreneurial Finance Lab, an automated service that has helped companies and lenders in more than 20 countries to identify high potential, credit-worthy entrepreneurs based on a psychometric system, while reducing their default rates and risks.
Virtual Piggy, a global payment enabling service that facilitates the online spending of under eighteens and young adults in a parent approved manner.
V-Key, a liquid defence micro-vm to protect mobile applications against cyber-attacks.
Waratek, a solution that solves a specific problem affecting the future use of Java as the industry moves towards higher levels of infrastructure virtualisation and private Clouds.
The nine early-stage startup finalists are:
Azimo, a platform that uses mobile and social technology to reinvent the way that economic migrants send money back to their families in the developing world.
Growth Intelligence, automatically generates qualified time-sensitive sales leads, tracking the performance and activity of every business in the economy in real time.
P2P Cash, a secure mobile platform that lowers money transfer cost to zero by using SWIFT standards to allow cash to be sent or received from any mobile wallet or bank account worldwide.
PassportFX, a regulated clearing service for central and commercial banks.
Pocketbook, an application to manage personal finance providing a single view on spending.
Realty Mogul, an innovative web platform that allows investors to browse, screen and sign rare real estate opportunities that have been historically difficult to access.
Twikey, a simple, fast and safe solution to efficiently manage online mandates and contracts with their end-customers.
XYverify, a virtually “invisible” mobile payment authentication solution that protects consumers, merchants and financial institutions from identity theft and transaction-related breaches.
z-crd, a modern secure and scalable cloud-based international transaction system that cuts out middlemen, reduces transaction costs and offers services currently unheard of.
As I said, this Sibos will be special for me, as I will sail to other seas as of … Sibos itself, staying very close to startups and innovation in the financial sector, leaving the Innotribe team but keeping the brand in my hearth as something that – and I am measuring my words – opened my mind in making me understand what I really want to do, and which type of air I need to breath.
Innotribe is there to stay and grow, for a very simple reason: it does not belong to SWIFT anymore. It’s the community, and the movement around it, that makes it living. I will never be proud enough to have put my grain of salt into it.
More than ever, stay tuned
Matteo
