SWIFT Innotribe has opened applications for its Start-up Challenge for Africa.
For the third year running, the start-up challenge will be part of SWIFT's African Regional Conference (ARC), which will be held this year in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, from 16 to 18 May.
SWIFT says ARC brings together policy-makers, industry leaders and the broader financial community from across the African continent. Typically attracting up to 500 delegates from around 40 countries, ARC is a forum for networking, education, discussion and debate as well as a platform for fintech start-ups to connect with the financial sector.
Sido Bestani, SWIFT Innotribe's head of Middle East, Turkey and Africa, says: "Fintech companies are increasingly part of the fabric of Africa's financial services industry. Now in its third year, Innotribe's Start-up Challenge for Africa plays an important role in finding the continent's most exciting young companies, bringing them together with the financial sector and helping them grow."
From all applications received, Innotribe will select 10 start-ups to enter the programme, showcase their products during ARC, and receive expert coaching and mentoring.
Innotribe will closely work with industry experts, bank decision-makers, venture capitalists and angel investors to select the showcase participants and their expertise will also serve to advise and coach the start-ups prior to the event.
During the showcase, the three best start-ups will be nominated by the audience as finalists, automatically securing their participation in Sibos, SWIFT's annual global financial services conference, to be held in Toronto, Canada, from 16-19 October. They will also receive a EUR10 000 cash prize each.
Reflecting on the last three years, Fabian Vandenreydt, global head of securities at Innotribe, and the SWIFT Institute at SWIFT, says: "Our partnership with ARC has allowed us to highlight Africa as a hotbed of fintech activity with a lot of ideas, resources and talent to support.
"Through the start-up challenge, we want to spotlight innovation playing a role in the future of the financial industry across the continent and provide an opportunity for young African companies to use Innotribe's global network to help them maximise their huge potential."
Applications for the 2017 start-up challenge are open until mid-March. The successful applicants will be announced in April. Click here for more details.
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