The next generation of Fintech is announced
15 finalists selected for Mastercard’s and NFT Venture’s Fintech-initiative Lighthouse Development Program
Nordics & Baltics August 29, 2018 – Mastercard and NFT Ventures today announced the final 15 participants that will take part in the Lighthouse Development Program 2018. The collaboration between Mastercard and NFT Ventures was created with the purpose of finding and helping develop the next-generation of Fintech in the Nordic and Baltic region. Participating companies will receive tailored support and advice adapted to their unique innovations through a series of hands on workshops.
Start-ups from Sweden, Finland and the Baltics have applied with the hope to collaborate with Mastercard and their partners. Today Mastercard and NFT Ventures announced the finalists – 15 companies coming from Sweden, Finland and the Baltic region. From September until December the start-ups will participate in four full day tailored workshops in Stockholm, Helsinki, and Vilnius. Between workshops, the companies will be provided with ongoing support and advice.
The 15 finalists vary from early stage ventures to well-established start-ups and work in a range of verticals specialising in everything from identification, wearables, payments and financial inclusion. One Swedish finalist Pej innovates physical payments, Finnish Bankify helps users manage their personal finances and Estonian EveryPay functions as a payment gateway for the next generation of digital transactions.
Finalists from 2018’s Lighthouse Development Program
Sweden
Finland
Baltic
“When targeting high quality applicants, the selection process becomes even harder, and this year we had many great companies apply. The companies joining our program were chosen because they are working on innovative and scalable solutions and have a high likelihood of being able to partner with ourselves or our participating banking partners. This has given us a nice mix of companies. We are really excited to learn more about them and explore how we can work together in our workshops starting this fall”
“ Pej has a new approach to physical payments. With new digital solutions we are looking beyond the transaction in order to solve the actual problems that improve the customer experience – with less waiting/queueing time, more availability, upselling, and efficient use of personnel. Growth for us is about establishing partnerships and creates a platform to integrate and improve the current payment ecosystem. We see the Lighthouse as a great opportunity to be a part of a program that opens the door to a global player as Mastercard and creates a space to meet other fintech companies”
“We are the first in the world to fully implement all of our services to a public cloud. Our cloud-based payment solutions enable our customers to reach the market fast with minimum upfront investments. As the Lighthouse Program and Enfuce Financial Services share the value of collaboration, we believe that we are a perfect match. At Enfuce, we base our business philosophy on working together with a broad spectrum of partners and customers, bringing different players to the same table enabling new innovative solutions. We believe that the Lighthouse Program would be a perfect hot spot to broaden our network of interesting companies and people.”
About Lighthouse Development Program
The Lighthouse Development Program is designed to help start-ups tackle key challenges they are facing by bringing experts within the industry together with start-ups in a series of workshops, where everyone can learn from each other and solve the needs of tomorrow. Each participating start-up will be assigned a direct point of contact to help them gain access to the resources they need such as subject matter expertise, market research and data and introductions to industry players as well as customers and partners to Mastercard.
The program targets Fintech start-ups working within e-commerce, payments, AI, open banking, security (i.e biometrics), block chain and connected areas. The program will run from September to December and consist of four full day workshops with ongoing support in-between. Next year The Lighthouse Development Program will accept applicants from Denmark, Norway and Estonia.
Read more about the program here: www.mclighthouse.com
Author
Kimberley Hedlund, Geelmuyden Kiese
+46 738 25 10 16
Kimberley.hedlund@gknordic.com
About Mastercard
Mastercard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. Mastercard products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MastercardNews, join the discussion on the Beyond the Transaction Blog and subscribe for the latest news on the Engagement Bureau.
About NFT Ventures
NFT Ventures www.nftventures.com is a leading Nordic investor. We focus on Fintech and other segments where Fintech is included or facilitated in the product offerings, such as Proptech, Insurtech, E- commerce, and Regtech. With investment teams located in Stockholm and Helsinki, we currently have over 40 portfolio companies under management across Nordic markets and the UK. Through expert guidance and financial support, we aim to become the number one choice for start-ups seeking a growth partner
