A select group of entrepreneurs wanting to shape the future of financial services have started their journey on a 13-week accelerator ‘start up’ programme being run by Barclays group in east London.
The bank’s Accelerator centre in Stepney Green is running the programme of networking, mentoring and development to support financial technology innovations.
“We need to embrace the innovative start-up ecosystem to drive innovation,” Barclays’ chief designer Derek White explained. “Many of the teams enrolling are exploring technologies that could help transform the way banks operate.”
Hundreds of start-ups from 60 countries applied for one of the 10 places on the programme. The chosen ideas include encryption technology for cyber security, a new bond marketplace and a Bitcoin company.
The 10 companies are being housed at the London Escalator centre in Mile End Road, which gives start-ups the chance to network. Each team also gets £10,000 seed funding from Techstars.
The companies selected for the Accelerator are refining their business models, ready for a public Demo Day in June.
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