FOUNDERS of Scotland’s most promising fintech firms have been invited to apply for a growth programme which provides expert training and access to industry leaders.
Tech Nation, a scale-up network for UK entrepreneurs, is now calling for applicants for its 2019 Fintech Growth Programme, which is delivered as part of the Treasury’s Fintech Sector Strategy.
Supported by fintech market leaders, including Al Lukies and David Duffy of the Fintech Alliance, the bespoke leadership development programme – running from September 2019 to March 2020 – is designed to connect and create opportunities for the UK’s most innovative fintech scale-ups.
The programme puts leading fintech CEOs through nine themed insights sessions, delivered by some of the sector’s most renowned entrepreneurs.
They will cover topics such as regulation, partnering with established financial services firms and expanding internationally.
The cohort will also attend networking events to meet key stakeholders and decision-makers, and the programme will culminate with a three-day international showcase trip to the US.
A total of 25 companies will be selected by a panel of expert judges, including Passion Capital partner and Tech Nation chair Eileen Burbidge, Starling Bank CEO Anne Boden and 11:FS co-founder Simon Taylor.
Loral Quinn, co-founder and CEO of Edinburgh-based firm Sustainably – an app which allows people to donate their spare change to charity automatically each time they shop – was a cohort of the 2018 programme.
She commented: “Tech Nation’s fintech programme was invaluable to Sustainably. We’re now focused on building our partner marketing programme to scale our brand, we’re hiring a designer into the team, and are in discussions with banks on how we can use their networks to scale.”
Although external funding is not a requirement, companies applying for the programme must be at a stage of development equivalent to seed or Series A, have a product in market used actively, and be headquartered in the UK.
The application process is open to B2B companies, and, for the first time this year, Tech Nation will also be considering B2C businesses for the programme.
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