Three months after it was launched, ING FinTech Village goes one step further with the official opening of the application period for participating in the accelerator program. Located near Brussels, in a unique fintech environment, a solid team of mentors and coaches will be offering their expertise to a select group of startups in the financial technology domain. ING realizes this in close collaboration with Deloitte and SWIFTInnotribe, as core partners, as well with Belcube, Smartfin, Eggsplore, Startups.be and IBM.
Innovation has long been at the heart of our strategy, and today more than ever. In that context, Luxembourg startups are invited to apply to our program as from today.
The timeframe to get started
ING FinTech Village allows startups to go through a mentoring program in an environment aimed at accelerating the preparation of a proof of concept, allowing them to test their FinTech solution in a real-life bank setting. The goal is to foster the development of existing startups and accelerate the pace of innovation, in order to come up with solutions which bring further benefit to customers. For ING, it is a next step in its strong commitment to innovation, and for its clients to stay one step ahead in life and business.
The startups are invited to apply to our program as from now. The selection period will be closed on January 31st, 2016. Soon after the selected startups will be announced. The first accelerator program will take place from March until June 2016. During this period, each startup will benefit from a tailor-made mentoring program to develop/refine their concept and prepare a proof of concept.
Outsanding location at the heart of Europe
FinTech Village will be co-located with Eggsplore in Diegem, close to Brussels, in a building that will also host more mature fintech companies, investors and other fintech stakeholders. An ideal environment where startups can develop.
Actively working on solutions
The startup companies will be selected based on their team and the solutions they can bring on the four main challenges selected for this first edition.
Firstly, ING is looking for startups that are working on innovative online mobile solutions and have the potential to create added value for its customers.
Secondly, ING is very interested in technologies that enable personalized solutions to empower its customers. Solutions that leverage predictive models and compelling interfaces to generate targeted recommendations for customers are particularly of interest.
Thirdly, ING is continuously working on creating a differentiated customer experience by offering simple, easy and secure banking. To achieve this goal, the Bank wants to support startups that are working on smart security and authentication across multiple channels.
Finally, ING is always looking for way to further improve its internal operations. Therefore, the bank is targeting solutions that can help streamline its customer on-boarding process, compliance processes or user identity management.
A dedicated team of mentors
Startups will be supported by a team of experienced mentors. These mentors come from ING and its partners. They all have different backgrounds, but without exception a high level of seniority and expertise from which the participants can pour knowledge in order to refine their product vision and prepare a compelling proof of concept for the market place. A cornerstone of the program is the assignment of a lead mentor/sponsor to each startup. This sponsor will is a senior decision-maker of the bank with a keen interest to conduct a proof of concept with the startup.
Welcome to Luxembourg startups
ING believes in cooperation to foster innovation. Therefore, the bank is open for expanding its initial partnership. This creates a win-win for all parties: the startups benefit from more support and get access to broader networks and the partners get access to a broader and rich set of opportunities.
Innovation has long been at the heart of our strategy, and today more than ever. In that context, Luxembourg startups are invited to apply to our program as from today.
The press release published here reflects only the opinion of the author: ING
