Along with the explosive growth of fintech startups and the quantity of invested into this industry, we have also seen an increasing interest from banks, corporations and international organizations into the industry, with the subsequent flourishing of accelerators and incubators offering quality programs for promising startups. Here we’ve compiled a list of those we think are the most interesting fintech accelerators and incubators in Europe.
Fintech Innovation Lab
A 12 weeks program run by Accenture and Partnership Fund for New York City, created for early and growth stage fintech firms, with innovative products targeted at financial services clients. Six startups are selected to enter the program once a year, with the possibility to be supported by experienced mentors of the Lab’s Entrepreneurs Network to participate in a leadership program including several fintech workshops and panels, as well as the possibility to improve their products with the help of experts from financial services institutions.
Startupbootcamp Fintech
A global startup accelerator with activities in various industries. On the fintech side, they run two successful programs in Europe, one in London for growth stage companies and one in Amsterdam for early stage ones. 10 fintech companies are selected for a three months program where they can have mentorship from more than 100 industry experts, access to office space in a central location, as well as seed funding opportunities through a global network of investors. An impressive range of high-level partners that include, among others, Intesa Sanpaolo, MasterCard, Rabobank, Lloyds Banking Group, Cognito PR, and PwC.
Barclays Accelerator
A 13 weeks intensive program run by Barclays in partnership with Techstars, that provides a dedicated on-site team in London. The selected companies are able to work during this period from Rise London, the “Europe’s largest workspace dedicated to fintech”, gaining the opportunity to attend workshops and events organized there. During the acceleration period, they also have access to the Barclays Eagle Labs’, space where they are able to work on prototypes of their products. But it’s not just about getting space to work from, the selected ones can also count on an extended group of top experts, mentors and potential customers. Together with the other candidates they can develop their solutions and pitch those to top-tier investors, in the Barclays Accelerator Demo Day, at the end of the program.
Level 39
They claim to be Europe’s largest technology accelerator for finance. Level 39 clearly deserves to be included here, but still, it’s something quite different from the other accelerators of this list. Launched in 2013 in London by the Canary Wharf Group, is now a large community of 1250 leaders in cybersecurity, fintech and retail tech. They support fast-growing businesses, both startups, and scaleups, by opening up access to infrastructure, top talents, and international customers.
Axel Springer Plug And Play Accelerator
A Berlin-based accelerator, launched in 2013 by a joint venture between the Plug and Play Tech Center, a well known international startup accelerator located in Sunnyvale, California, and Alex Springer, one of the leading digital publishers in Europe. In their three months program, that runs three times per years, they provide coaching, workshops, seed money and office space in Berlin city center. Selected startups have the opportunity to presents in the Demo Day, at the end of the acceleration period, in front of local and international investors, and to travel to Silicon Valley to meet investors directly there.
ING Fintech Village
An initiative run by ING Belgium in collaboration with ING Netherlands and ING Luxembourg, and with Deloitte, The Bridge and Innotribe.
Both companies in a start-up or a scale-up phase are welcomed in this intensive 16 weeks program, where they have the opportunity to attend master classes and work together on a specific topic, as well as with a “sponsor”, represented by a senior leader from ING, and develop a proof of concept with the aim to solve a concrete business issue of the bank.
Have an experience with other great accelerators? Tell us by dropping an e-mail to [email protected]!
