In continuation of cooperation with newly established financial technology (FinTech) companies, Nordea invites to apply for the new season of the start-up acceleration programme which will begin on the 12th of September of this year. For the strongest FinTech companies which pass the competition, the programme will offer a 3-month intensive practice programme as well as a possibility to raise up to 1 million Euro funding. Applications for the programme may be registered by the 7th of August at the link nordeaaccelerator.com.

The Nordea start-up accelerator is a intensive 3-month programme having the purpose to help start-up companies from the Baltic and Nordic States Region to promote the development of their business with greater success. Nordea’s goal within the framework of the programme is to identify new, innovative digital solutions which will create additional added value for the bank’s customers. Within the framework of the acceleration programme, the new entrepreneurs will work in close cooperation with external entrepreneurs, international technology specialists and Nordea experts, thus discovering broad business opportunities for the start-up companies in establishing new contacts, attracting cooperation partners and funding.
 
Process of Nordea Start-Up Acceleration Programme

The 50 most promising teams within the competition will receive an invitation to the course and the week of selection for the competition which will take place in August 2016 in Oslo, Norway. Up to 30 of the best newly established companies will start cooperation with Nordea this Autumn in order to develop their business ideas.

The Nordea acceleration programme offers the following:

  • Insight into the business environment and an opportunity for the start-up companies to develop and offer innovative solutions by making them into real products and services;
  • Access to the market, potential customers and data bases;
  • Monitoring and exchange of experience with experienced entrepreneurs and FinTech experts;
  • Investments of up to 1 million Euro from Nestholma Venture Accelerator, the main cooperation partner of the programme and from others;

“One of the challenges for the newly established companies within the framework of the programme shall be to come forward with ideas related to the latest technologies, such as the cognitive computing, the use of artificial intelligence for the banks’ and financial needs, as well as the Blockchain technology. Furthermore, Nordea is also interested in several other areas offering good opportunities to attract many and different new companies to the programme, thus ensuring synergy and diversity of ideas”, according to representatives of Nordea start-up acceleration programme.

The first Nordea programme of this kind took place in Winter of 2015 through 2016, and by the end of the season 12 successful business ideas of the new entrepreneurs  received investors’ funding and continued development of their elaborated service. The success story of Latvia is a company called Nordigen.com which is currently negotiating with Nordea bank about performing a pilot project in Finland and which has also established new contacts elsewhere in Europe, for instance in Spain and Poland.