Spains first Fintech incubator and accelerator wants to attract talents and start-ups from Europe and Latin America.
The program includes a 16 weeks incubation in Spain and continues to use a collaborative approachas it does not require any stake in the companies capital.
Bankia Fintech by Innsomnia, Spains first Fintech incubator and accelerator, located in the Marina of Valencia, launched its first international program on Thursday 15th of December. Focusing its efforts on the main European markets and Latin American countries, the two-month period for applications, which can be submitted via the websites www.innsomnia.es and http://www.bankiafintech.com, will run from the 15th December 2016 to the 28th February 2017.
The top five companies that best fit Bankias requirements will then be chosen at the beginning of March. Bankia is one of the leading banking institution in Spain that launched Spains First Fintech incubator and accelerator in November 2016.
The aim of the program is to support and accelerate start-ups or spin-offs of established companies in a wide variety of areas such as Blockchain, Predictive analytics, RegTech, Artificial Intelligence, Marketplaces, InsurTech, Smart data; Economic Forecasting and Prediction models for the self-employed, retailers and families; Biometrics, Digital Solutions, Payment solutions, Robo-advisory, Alternative Ratings and Risk management systems, Aggregators and Comparison sites, Cybersecurity, Internet of Things and Innovations related to the securities markets.
The 16 weeks program from Bankia Fintech by Innsomnia will include training and mentoring for the incubated and accelerated businesses, helping them bringing together winningideas. This will include tailored business plans, as well as an immersion to the Spanish Fintech ecosystem.
European and Latin American start-ups
The international program is designed to help European and Latin American companies that wish to operate in Spain and Latin America, to establish themselves in Spain and access its market.It will also include the design of a European business plan to help Latin American Fintech start-ups enter the region.
Innsomnia wants this program to strengthen Bankias commitment to the Fintech industry, said Bankias chairman, José Ignacio Goirigolzarri, who hopes to make Spains first Fintech incubator and accelerator the new European hub for innovating firms.
The first step in this process is to replicate the enormous popularity of the first national Bankia Fintech by Innsomnia program, which attracted 40% of all Spanish Fintech companies, said the Bankia´s Chairman.
One of the characteristics of the Bankia Fintech by Innsomnia project is its commitment to collaborative working and it does not require a stake in the companies that will be selected to benefit from this incubation and acceleration program.Participating companies may receive investment and financing from Bankia or these start-ups may become suppliers to the bank and provide it with their services, but only if both parties agree.
The Corporate Director of Technology Innovation and Strategy at Bankia, Ignacio Cea, explained that Bankias international project is intended to attract the best talents to Spain to support the new challenges faced by the banking sector; to provide better servicesfor customers; and ultimately, to help Spanish companiesand therefore theglobal economy as a whole to develop.
The CEO of Innsomnia, Francisco Estevan, said: The convergence in time and space of the national programme, which is currently taking place at Innsomnias headquarters, with the international programme, will encourage collaboration between these Fintech ecosystems and raise the overall level of the sector in Spain.
The first programme organised by Bankia Fintech by Innsomnia, housed in Base 2 of the Valencia Marina (in the former headquarters of the Americas Cup Team Germany), has 14 start-ups from Madrid, Asturias, Castellón, Alicante, Valencia and Barcelona, which will be joined by the five companies selected in the international program now being launched.
The companies already collaborating with Bankia Fintech are working on solutions across an extremely varied range of Financial areas, such as Risk Management, Biometrics, Exporting, Financial Securities, Cryptocurrencies, Mobile Payments, Asset management, Stock markets, Geolocation and Real-estate loans.
Innsomnia, based in Valencia, was created in 2016 from two projects, a financial platform with more than 10 years experience helping companies and entrepreneurs to grow, and the most experienced innovation information team in Spain.In addition to managing Spains first Fintech incubator and accelerator, Innsomnia also helps the business sector to go digital and supports a wide range of projects related to innovation, technology and communication.
