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'Rise' initiative comes to SA

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 06 Oct 2015
Barclays Africa will open a Rise tech innovation hub in Cape Town in the coming months.
Barclays Africa will open a Rise tech innovation hub in Cape Town in the coming months.

In a move to partner with local entrepreneurs and innovators, Barclays Africa has extended its global start-up community, Rise, to South Africa.

'Rise' is a physical and virtual global community programme created by Barclays for fintech start-ups to connect, co-create and scale their innovative ideas.

Barclays Africa says it is confident Rise can assist in co-creating ground-breaking products and services with entrepreneurs from across the African continent.

According to Ashley Veasey, CIO of Barclays Africa, the financial services industry is undergoing a paradigm shift and new tech start-ups are challenging traditional business models.

"We aim to partner and collaborate at the forefront of this change," says Veasey.

Warren Squires, chief investment officer: Seeker Fund at Barclays Africa, notes Rise aims to support and facilitate interactions between start-ups, corporates and innovators.

"Rise is an open innovation platform for start-ups and innovators to innovate with Barclays Africa," says Squires.

He adds: "We realise that tech capabilities are being advanced outside of our offices, and we want to partner with those start-ups and join in the journey towards digital disruption."

Rise hubs are already present in London, New York and Manchester, and SA will soon join the list when another innovation hub is opened in Cape Town.

Rise Cape Town plans to enable African start-ups to connect and scale the next big thing in financial services, says Squires.

He states that Rise memberships will provide access to a global community, studio space, world-class events, resources and access to Barclays Africa's network and expertise.

Squires explains that once the Cape Town hub is up and running, it will do an intake of 10 start-up companies at a time for a three-month programme. The Rise Cape Town innovation hub is expected to be opened in the coming months.

Barclays Africa is looking for digital companies that are savvy tech innovators that can provide services in digital form for clients, he says.

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