F10 FinTech Incubator & Accelerator announces next selection of top-notch start-ups

Christoph Schärer Tax and Legal Innovation, Transformation & Disruption Leader, PwC Switzerland 22 Feb 2018

 

For the third time since launching the scheme in September 2016, Switzerland’s leading FinTech space, F10 Incubator & Accelerator, has selected 15 promising new start-ups for its successful six-month “Prototype to Product (P2P)” program. Within the program the start-ups receive support and guidance in transforming their ideas into successful companies and in connecting with international finance organisations.

 

International start-up quality in Switzerland

The intense selection process for Batch III was again executed by founding member PwC Switzerland, together with its six fellow corporate partners SIX, Julius Bär, Generali Group Switzerland, Baloise Group, Zürcher Kantonalbank and Raiffeisen. Between September and December 2017 a total of 262 start-ups from over fifty countries worldwide applied for one of the coveted places in the upcoming program.

After an intensive five days, with 62 online interviews and two days of life pitches by the top 26 start-ups at the F10 facility in Zurich, the seven corporate partners agreed to officially invite the following 15 start-ups (including three corporate-internal teams) to the next Batch, starting on 5 March 2018:

  • Anansi insurance platform for high-growth SMEs with an international supply chain of physical goods
  • Baasis ID all-in-one identity verification (KYC) platform for FinTechs, crypto wallets and exchanges, and government agencies
  • BDEO streamlined operational processes for insurance claims for companies in Europe and South America
  • Borderless blockchain-powered international payment systems for businesses, governments and banks
  • C2SEC cyber risk analytics for insurance companies and enterprises
  • Dynametrics modernized credit processes for banks and credit institutions
  • eHyve centralised, consolidated financial overview for consumers
  • Qard data collection and insights for small online e-commerce
  • Luminant simplified reinsurance for the automotive insurance industry
  • Monday platform which enables small businesses to manage administrative tasks simply and efficiently
  • Safeside 3-click life insurance purchases for consumers
  • SIX IoT programmable eCommerce platform, neutral for suppliers, personalised for consumers
  • Susfinteq EU-China ESK risk assessment using AI for banks and financial institutions
  • Target Insights advanced analytics for wealth managers
  • Vestberry SaaS information management for the private equity industry

Involvement in the F10 FinTech Incubator & Accelerator is one of PwC Switzerland’s core initiatives to attract innovative and exciting new ideas to Zurich and the Swiss financial services industry. In these fast-changing, disruptive times, in which new business models are created and rolled out in ever shorter cycles, start-ups and their way of addressing challenges represent a source of inspiration no business should ignore. Active and close cooperation with these groups of entrepreneurs at an early stage enables PwC Switzerland not only to bring interesting, relevant ideas to our clients, but also ensures that our firm comes into contact with revolutionary technologies and stays ahead of the ongoing digital progress.

What it takes

Crucial for our selection is the start-up’s team and its configuration: a discordant team with the right idea will never succeed, but the right team, with an idea that is still developing and the right guidance, will achieve its objectives. A broad skillset, eagerness and willingness to accept advice or even pivot the idea if necessary, and the desire for a market-ready, adoptable solution: teams exhibiting these qualities are the ones we want to foster and support with our extensive industry and corporate knowledge.

PwC Digital has identified a number of potentially interesting solutions and great teams, which we intend to follow closely once the Batch starts in 2 weeks. We will introduce some of these start-ups and their ideas to you in more detail via this channel as the program evolves.

We are looking forward to an inspiring few months ahead and the delivery of exciting Minimal Viable Prototypes (MVPs) in August 2018.

About F10

Based in Zurich, the F10 accelerator program was established by SIX Group in 2015 to promote Switzerland’s FinTech ecosystem, strengthen the innovative capacity of the Swiss finance and insurance sectors, and forge global links. It has been designed for financial firms that want to reach the next level of innovation, providing access to the most promising international FinTech start-ups, radically new technologies and business models. In September 2016, PwC Switzerland and Bank Julius Bär became joint corporate founding members of the association, with the overarching objective of providing a lasting contribution to the development of a state-of-the-art, future-fit Swiss financial sector.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact our F10 mentors

Christoph Schärer

Tax and Legal Innovation, Transformation & Disruption Leader, Zurich, PwC Switzerland

+41 58 792 42 82

Email

Marc Lehmann

Operational Excellence & ESG Transformation Leader, PwC Switzerland

+41 58 792 26 50

Email

Contact us

Prafull Sharma

Prafull Sharma

Partner, Cloud & Digital Leader, PwC Switzerland

Tel: +41 58 792 18 72